Software Directory update

Tender description

Business Wales provides a first class business support service to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Wales on behalf of the Welsh Government and is funded by the European Regional Development Fund. The service is delivered by Growth Partnership Wales, a partnership of Business in Focus, Antur Teifi and Serco Regional Service Ltd. Delivered by Serco Regional Services Ltd the Superfast Business Wales is a service element of Business Wales, which started in January 2016. It supports eligible businesses across Wales to understand, adopt and exploit the benefits of Superfast Broadband. The successful supplier will be required to work in partnership with the in-house marketing team to update, edit and redesign the current SFBW Software Essentials directory that is hosted on our website. Click here to view. Requirement Serco Enterprise is seeking a formal costed quote from an experienced marketing and creative agency, with proven journalistic abilities to edit, update and design the SFBW Software Essentials directory. It is currently formatted in a 92 page PDF document and requires a simple format that allows small to medium businesses to access the information they require easily and quickly. The recommended software needs to be up to date and relevant to our target audience* and the subsequent links need to drive the user to the appropriate page of the software or technology provider’s website. The guide will be made available online and through traditional print. *Superfast Business Wales Demographic - SFBW supports Welsh small and medium sized businesses across 22 local authorities (fewer than 250 employees with less than 40m GBP turnover). To date 83% employ between 0-9 employees with the remaining 17% 10-250 employees. The Guide Specification - The supplier will be required to research and provide a shortlist of examples of market leading software solutions or hardware products per function. And when applicable, include open source and proprietary software (free or licenced) that is suitable for micro and small and medium sized businesses - We are required to signpost to software houses and technology manufacturers rather than resellers; each must be compliant with country specific regulations including GDPR. - Only signpost to market leading technology solutions and avoid: i) products and services that are unlikely to exist during the guide’s life expectancy ii) solutions that are not market leading as they tend not to have sufficient investment and development iii) legacy products and products or solutions that are coming to end of life - All recommendations must be fair and transparent, not biased towards particular brands, and include a mix of solutions and products. The successful supplier will be required to provide the following activities: - Work with the in-house marketing team to produce an engaging and unbiased software guide that will inform businesses of the market leading technologies they should use to remain competitive (to include hardware, software, on premise and cloud based solutions) - Provide editorial guidance on the style, format, content, and imagery you will use to breathe a new lease of life into the guide and position it as valuable and easily shareable content - Build in editorial checks to ensure the guide is accurate, informative and appeals to Welsh SMEs - The guide needs to be fit for purpose, both as an online resource and in traditional print, so this needs to be considered at the design stage - All content is required to be produced in both Welsh and English so the ability to translate Welsh would be an advantage, although we are able to provide translated copy if required - All publicity needs to adhere to the guidelines for European funded programmes and meet the branding guidelines for Business Wales (please see copy of brand guidelines attached) - Upon contract award the supplier will be expected to provide a first draft of the updated design and editoria