NGESO Software/Hardware Technology Products & Associated Services

Tender description

National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO), a legally separate business within the National Grid Group (NGG), is the electricity system operator for Great Britain. The NGESO moves electricity around the system to keep homes and businesses supplied with the energy they need 24/7. National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO) became a legally separate business in 2019. NGESO is on a journey to become NESO (National Energy Systems Operator), divested from NGG to transition under UK government ownership during Summer 2024. For this notice, any mention of NESO should be interpreted to also include NGESO during the interim period leading up to the official change. The Digital, Data and Technology (DD&T) organisation within NGESO provides the sourcing capabilities, roles and skills required to achieve NESO digital deliverables. To support the role of the National Energy System Operator (NESO), a multi-supplier Framework Contract is sought for the supply of Software/Hardware Technology Products & Associated Services, which enables the delivery of a long-term corporate software and hardware procurement strategy for key SW publishers and OEMs or authorised distributors licences, products, and services. This is complemented by the need for a separate Managed Service Provider (MSP) to provision services for lifecycle & contract management, operating as a Vendor Management Organisation (VMO) which enables the management and performance evaluation of software and hardware contracts for the portfolio. NESO requires access to software and hardware in a flexible way to achieve objectives under its Business Plan and Digital Strategy, whilst building relationships with specialist suppliers who can partner in developing strategic direction. The expected time duration of an engagement will be approximately 3 years with possible extensions, subject to confirmation in the Contract Notice. The scope of the framework will comprise of COTS business and specialist software, infrastructure hardware and associated services, including Vendor Management. Currently these are separated into 3 lots shown below, but this may be subject to change before a Contract Notice is issued: Lot 1: Software Licences, Support Maintenance & Associated Services Lot 2: Hardware, Support Maintenance & Associated Services Lot 3: Vendor Management Organisation (VMO) - Associated Services for Software/Hardware contract & vendor management The lotting structure will be designed to suit a holistic or a more specialised approach to enable access to large companies and niche suppliers having places within the framework. These lots will be structured as NESO sees fit for its Contract Notice. Achilles UVDB Codes within this PIN indicate the specialism of services that may be required. Those companies who are equipped to offer the services should seek to be registered for these UVDB codes listed later in this document. Our latest Digitalisation Strategy can be found at: https://www.nationalgrideso.com/document/299416/download Lot 1: Software Licences, Support Maintenance & Associated Services The suppliers for this lot will be responsible for supplying software technology products but not limited to; access to Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) for Enterprise Business, Operating System, Productivity, Data & Analytics, CNI sector specific, IT Management, Cyber Security licensing with global & enterprise level software publishers and authorised distributors for licences, products, and associated services, to enable delivery of a long-term software corporate procurement strategy. Indicative examples of required capabilities including but not limited to; are as follows: Pre-sale Advisement Software Licence & Support Maintenance Request for Quotations Software Licence & Support Maintenance Procurement Product support & training Product management including but not limited to design, deployment. UVDB Codes to be registered on Achilles: 1.5.6 Software Development Tools 1.5.7 General Business Software 1.5.8 Specialist Business Software 1.5.9 Technical Software 2.1.2 Software Development Services 2.1.3 Software Support Services 2.2.3 IT Consultancy Lot 2: Hardware, Support Maintenance & Associated Services The suppliers for this lot will be responsible for supplying key hardware technology products (IT Infrastructure) to enable delivery of a long-term hardware corporate procurement strategy. Indicative examples of required capabilities including but not limited to; are as follows: Infrastructure Hardware such as servers (compute), storage, back-up devices, load balancers, Support Maintenance &, Delivery. Product related support and training Product management and asset management, including End of Life disposal/recycling. Advisory consultants Flexible storage, warehousing & logistics capabilities UVDB Codes to be registered on Achilles: 2.1.10 Data collection & Handling Services 1.5.1 Computer Hardware & Accessories - Workstations/Servers Lot 3: Vendor Management Organisation (VMO) - Associated Services for Software/Hardware contract & vendor management The suppliers for this lot will be responsible for supplying will NESO with specialist vendor management capabilities including real-time visibility into software assets, alerts for expiring licences & support maintenance, potential licensing risks, integration with IT service management tools for streamlined workflows, reporting and analytics capabilities to track software usage, identify optimisation opportunities, and inform licence consolidation and contract negotiation strategies. Indicative examples of required capabilities but not limited to; are as follows: Renewal Management Contract Management Vendor Selection Software Life-Cyle Management / SAM services Maximise value from investment (optimise costs) Licence entitlement Monitoring Compliance and Audit Reporting Analytics UVDB Codes to be registered on Achilles: 1.5.7 General Business Software 2.1.2 Software Development Services 2.1.3 Software Support Services