Section one: Contracting authority/entity
one.1) Name and addresses
Post Office Limited
100 Wood Street
London
EC2V 7ER
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKI - London
Companies House
02154540
Internet address(es)
Main address
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Extension of the Data Centre Operations and Central Network Services (including Test Infrastructure)
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKI - London
two.2.4) Description of the procurement at the time of conclusion of the contract:
This Notice relates to a Modification to a contract in
accordance with Regulation 72 (1) (b) of the Public
Contracts Regulations 2015. Post Office Limited
("Post Office" or "the Authority") entered into an
agreement with Fujitsu Services Limited ("Fujitsu
Services") dated 28th July 1999 ("Horizon
Agreement") for the provision of certain services,
including services in respect of the HNG-X System
("Services"). Provision of all Services were
extended in 2021 with the Data Centre Operations
and Central Network Services expected to be
terminated upon the successful move to the Cloud,
or to expire naturally on 31st March 2023,
whichever occurred earlier. However, the program
to transfer the services to a new Cloud provider
created fundamental technical challenges that POL
could not economically and technically overcome,
and the business has taken the decision to pivot
back to the Fujitsu provided Horizon Data Centres
until the successful transfer of services out of
Horizon and into its replacement NBIT ("New
Branch IT"). As a result of this retention of Data Centre capabilities it is necessary to carry out Data Centre Fortification works to avoid provide stability, avoid obsolescence and ensure business continuity. Accordingly, this Modification includes capital expenditure for an appropriate refresh and improvement program.
The Data Centre Operations and Central Network
Services have thereby been extended (including the Test Infrastructure) for an
additional period of 1 year from the 1st April 2024; to be co-terminus with the main Horizon Services.
The estimated value of these Services and capital expenditure for the
additional one year under the modification is
£36,610,000 GBP.
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement, dynamic purchasing system or concession
Duration in months
12
Section four. Procedure
four.2) Administrative information
four.2.1) Contract award notice concerning this contract
Notice number: 2021/S 000-009752
Section five. Award of contract/concession
Contract No
N/A
five.2) Award of contract/concession
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession award decision:
3 November 2023
five.2.2) Information about tenders
The contract/concession has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
Fujitsu Services Ltd
Bracknell
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
Companies House
0096056
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
No
five.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession (at the time of conclusion of the contract;excluding VAT)
Total value of the procurement: £36,160,000
Section six. Complementary information
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Royal Courts of Justice
London
Country
United Kingdom
Section seven: Modifications to the contract/concession
seven.1) Description of the procurement after the modifications
seven.1.1) Main CPV code
- 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
seven.1.3) Place of performance
NUTS code
- UKI - London
seven.1.4) Description of the procurement:
Continuing provision of Data Centre Operations and Central Network Services (including Test Infrastructure) under an existing Software and IT Services agreement relating to Point of Sale ("POS") customer facing transactions across multiple channels.
seven.1.5) Duration of the contract, framework agreement, dynamic purchasing system or concession
Start date
1 April 2024
End date
31 March 2025
seven.1.6) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot/concession:
£36,160,000
seven.1.7) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
Fujitsu Services Limited
Bracknell
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
Companies House
0096056
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
No
seven.2) Information about modifications
seven.2.1) Description of the modifications
Nature and extent of the modifications (with indication of possible earlier changes to the contract):
The following key amendments will be made to the Horizon Agreement.
A 1 year extension of the Data Centre Operations and Central Network Services (including Test Infrastructure).
seven.2.2) Reasons for modification
Need for additional works, services or supplies by the original contractor/concessionaire.
Description of the economic or technical reasons and the inconvenience or duplication of cost preventing a change of contractor:
This Notice relates to the modification of an existing contract that has been necessary due to the following reasons:
The existing Horizon System is a highly complex platform, written in legacy versions of software languages and which incorporates five "systems" in one i.e. financial services, banking, government services, mails and retail. As an aging platform, the inflexible nature of the construction of the architecture of "Horizon" itself makes technology change challenging.
Accordingly, the Program to transfer the services to the Cloud encountered fundamental technical challenges that Post Office could not economically and technically overcome, and the business has taken the decision to pivot back to the existing Data Centres until the successful transfer of services out of Horizon and into its replacement NBIT ("New Branch IT").
The Data Centre Operations and Central Network Services cannot be transferred away from the original contractor in the short term because of the specific interoperability requirements, compounded by the highly complex nature of the existing infrastructure and the Post Office's business model and operating procedures. A change of contractor would result in disproportionate technical difficulties in implementation as well as operation and maintenance at this time. Awarding the services to a different contractor would also cause significant inconvenience in terms of service delivery, reliability and continuity of service including because of incomplete transfer of know-how.
Therefore, Post Office has modified the contract in accordance with Regulation 72 (1) (b) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The increase in price as a result of the modified contract is less than 50% of the original contract value. The Data Centre Operations and Central Network Services have thereby been extended for an additional period of 1 year from the 1st April 2024.
seven.2.3) Increase in price
Updated total contract value before the modifications (taking into account possible earlier contract modifications, price adaptions and average inflation)
Value excluding VAT: £2,339,000,000
Total contract value after the modifications
Value excluding VAT: £2,375,000,000