Scope
Description
This contract is being directly awarded to Cloudinary under Section 41(1)(a) of the Procurement Act 2023 on the basis that Cloudinary is the only supplier capable of delivering the required service for technical reasons. The contract supports the Oak National Academy's core platform, which enables free-to-access educational content aligned with the national curriculum.
The Oak platform is uniquely reliant on Cloudinary's proprietary image and video processing infrastructure. This dependency is hard-coded within the platform's architecture and embedded across hundreds of thousands of content items used by schools across England. Replicating this technical solution, or migrating to an alternative provider, would result in disproportionate operational disruption, high cost, and unacceptable delay to service continuity, particularly during the academic year.
Market testing has confirmed that no other supplier offers a solution compatible with Oak's existing content schema, metadata frameworks, or custom delivery APIs without fundamental redevelopment of the platform. As such, Cloudinary remains the only supplier technically capable of meeting the current requirements without significant re-engineering of critical systems.
This contract is therefore not the result of an artificial narrowing of the parameters of competition, but a reflection of the bespoke and irreplaceable nature of Cloudinary's embedded role in Oak's educational content delivery system.
Contract 1
Supplier
Contract value
- £20,085 excluding VAT
- £24,111 including VAT
Below the relevant threshold
Date signed
1 June 2025
Contract dates
- 1 June 2025 to 31 May 2026
- Possible extension to 31 May 2027
- 2 years
Description of possible extension:
This contract represents a continuation of a previously awarded bespoke enterprise licence agreement with Cloudinary. The extension covers a 12-month renewal of services originally procured to support the technical infrastructure of the Oak National Academy's digital content platform.
This renewal is necessary to maintain seamless delivery of existing educational services embedded with Cloudinary's proprietary digital asset management technology. The terms of the extension are consistent with the original scope and pricing model, adjusted only for updated licensing and support provisions as per the enterprise subscription.
The contract has not been materially altered beyond what was foreseen at the time of the original award. No new services, deliverables, or functional changes have been introduced. The extension ensures operational continuity during a period of strategic review and avoids disproportionate technical and financial risk associated with a re-platforming exercise.
This extension is compliant with Section 41(1)(a) of the Procurement Act 2023, on the basis that the service can only be provided by Cloudinary for technical reasons and due to embedded architecture. With an option to extend for a further 12 months, subject to performance and budget availability
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 72212517 - IT software development services
Contract locations
- UK - United Kingdom
Procedure
Procedure type
Below threshold - without competition
Supplier
Cloudinary UK Ltd
30 Old Bailey,
London
EC4M 7AU
United Kingdom
Email: support@cloudinary.com
Region: UKI31 - Camden and City of London
Small or medium-sized enterprise (SME): No
Voluntary, community or social enterprise (VCSE): No
Contract 1
Contracting authority
OAK NATIONAL ACADEMY LIMITED
- Companies House: 14174888
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PWYQ-7722-NDVX
1 Scott Place
Manchester
M3 3AA
United Kingdom
Region: UKD33 - Manchester
Organisation type: Public authority - central government