Award

vFire Maintenance and Support

  • Business Services Organisation I T S

F15: Voluntary ex ante transparency notice

Notice identifier: 2022/S 000-002721

Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-03113b

Published 31 January 2022, 4:36pm



Section one: Contracting authority/entity

one.1) Name and addresses

Business Services Organisation I T S

Centre House,79 Chichester Street

BELFAST

BT14JE

Contact

Catherine Fegan

Email

cathy.fegan@hscni.net

Telephone

+44 2895362561

Country

United Kingdom

NUTS code

UKN06 - Belfast

Internet address(es)

Main address

www.hscbusiness.hscni.net

one.4) Type of the contracting authority

Body governed by public law

one.5) Main activity

Health


Section two: Object

two.1) Scope of the procurement

two.1.1) Title

vFire Maintenance and Support

Reference number

STA10152

two.1.2) Main CPV code

  • 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

two.1.3) Type of contract

Services

two.1.4) Short description

Alemba are the Global owner of the vFire product. Alemba have worked with HSC since 2007 and have an in-depth knowledge of HSC requirements and where necessary have adapted the product to meet service needs in order to ensure ISO20000 audit compliance and guarantee that the product is aligned to ITIL IT Service Management (ITSM) industry best practice. Alemba is hosted on HSCNI dedicated Servers offering HSCNI more control over the environment and the data contained within the software product.

two.1.6) Information about lots

This contract is divided into lots: No

two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)

Value excluding VAT: £486,796.16

two.2) Description

two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)

  • 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

two.2.3) Place of performance

NUTS codes
  • UKN - Northern Ireland

two.2.4) Description of the procurement

Alemba are the Global owner of the vFire product. Alemba have worked with HSC since 2007 and have an in-depth knowledge of HSC requirements and where necessary have adapted the product to meet service needs in order to ensure ISO20000 audit compliance and guarantee that the product is aligned to ITIL IT Service Management (ITSM) industry best practice. Alemba is hosted on HSCNI dedicated Servers offering HSCNI more control over the environment and the data contained within the software product.

Continuing to have support for the product and the adaptions implemented (e.g. Business Service Transformation Programme adaptions to work with other non-vFire Trusts) will ensure that IT Services will continue to run as effectively as possible. It will also mean that the provision of IT Services can be monitored and reviewed to ensure that HSC customer Service Level Agreement (SLA) targets are met via use of the vFire ITSM toolset.

A core ITSM toolset forms a foundation for the move to a NHS Digital Service forecast which is likely to occur over the period of the next four years. This has been highlighted at senior levels of NHS IT Management as a core requirement that HSCNI move onto the one ITSM toolset for all HSCNI Trusts. This is beneficial for a lot of reasons in terms of efficiency, cost effectiveness and simplicity.

We intend to extend the existing vFire maintenance and support contract by three years which will lead us to a point at which a new ITSM toolset should be being procured as part of the Digital Shared Services programme.

vFire allows BSO ITS and Northern, Southern and South Eastern Trusts to continue to deliver an effective service using a tried and tested product. The withdrawal period for Alemba is 12 months. In two years, we will better informed and will be able to make a much more informed decision on vFire support.

two.2.5) Award criteria

Price

two.2.11) Information about options

Options: No


Section four. Procedure

four.1) Description

four.1.1) Type of procedure

Negotiated without a prior call for competition

  • The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason:
    • protection of exclusive rights, including intellectual property rights

Explanation:

Alemba are the Global owner of the vFire product. Alemba have worked with HSC since 2007 and have an in-depth knowledge of HSC requirements and where necessary have adapted the product to meet service needs in order to ensure ISO20000 audit compliance and guarantee that the product is aligned to ITIL IT Service Management (ITSM) industry best practice. Alemba is hosted on HSCNI dedicated Servers offering HSCNI more control over the environment and the data contained within the software product.

Continuing to have support for the product and the adaptions implemented (e.g. Business Service Transformation Programme adaptions to work with other non-vFire Trusts) will ensure that IT Services will continue to run as effectively as possible. It will also mean that the provision of IT Services can be monitored and reviewed to ensure that HSC customer Service Level Agreement (SLA) targets are met via use of the vFire ITSM toolset.

A core ITSM toolset forms a foundation for the move to a NHS Digital Service forecast which is likely to occur over the period of the next four years. This has been highlighted at senior levels of NHS IT Management as a core requirement that HSCNI move onto the one ITSM toolset for all HSCNI Trusts. This is beneficial for a lot of reasons in terms of efficiency, cost effectiveness and simplicity.

We intend to extend the existing vFire maintenance and support contract by three years which will lead us to a point at which a new ITSM toolset should be being procured as part of the Digital Shared Services programme.

vFire allows BSO ITS and Northern, Southern and South Eastern Trusts to continue to deliver an effective service using a tried and tested product. The withdrawal period for Alemba is 12 months. In two years, we will better informed and will be able to make a much more informed decision on vFire support.

four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes


Section five. Award of contract/concession

Contract No

STA10152

Title

vFire Maintenance and Support

A contract/lot is awarded: Yes

five.2) Award of contract/concession

five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract

31 January 2022

five.2.2) Information about tenders

The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No

five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire

Alemba

Edinburgh

EH9 1SB

Country

United Kingdom

NUTS code
  • UKM - Scotland
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME

No

five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)

Total value of the contract/lot/concession: £486,796.16


Section six. Complementary information

six.4) Procedures for review

six.4.1) Review body

Business Services Organisation

2 Franklin Street

Belfast

BT2 8DQ

Country

United Kingdom