Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Business Services Organisation I T S
Centre House,79 Chichester Street
BELFAST
BT14JE
Contact
Catherine Fegan
Telephone
+44 2895362561
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKN06 - Belfast
Internet address(es)
Main address
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.2.3) 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
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the cases listed below
- The 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: No
Section five. Award of contract
Contract No
STA10152
Title
vFire Maintenance and Support
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
9 February 2022
five.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 1
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Alemba
Edinburgh
EH9 1SB
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UKM - Scotland
The contractor is an SME
No
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot: £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