Scope
Reference
PA-FRAM-1518-25-WP
Description
Coventry University Group is seeking proposals from qualified vendors to deliver Hosting, Licensing, Support and Maintenance Services for its Optimizely Digital Experience Cloud (DXC). These services are integral to the Group's digital transformation efforts, ensuring continuous high performance and secure operations for online content.
This section provides a formal justification for specifying Optimizely CMS as the required platform in this tender. The justification is made in accordance with the reasons below. Coventry University invites for suppliers to submit tender returns based on this justification, within the scope of an open tender.
1. Technical Interoperability and Continuity
The existing digital infrastructure, including CRM, analytics, identity management, and content delivery systems, is tightly integrated with Optimizely CMS. Optimizely's API-first architecture and support for headless delivery are essential for maintaining seamless interoperability with legacy systems and third-party services. Replacing Optimizely would require reengineering multiple integrations, introducing significant risk and cost.
2. Operational Efficiency and User Familiarity
Internal teams are trained and certified in Optimizely CMS, and workflows are built around its content management and personalization capabilities. Transitioning to a new CMS would require retraining, reauthoring content, and revalidating accessibility and compliance standards, resulting in operational disruption.
3. Cost of Change and Proportionality
A platform change would incur disproportionate University costs, including rebuilding templates and components, revalidating security and GDPR compliance, rewriting content migration scripts, and reintegrating with existing APIs and services. These costs are not justified given the maturity and suitability of the current Optimizely-based architecture.
4. Strategic Alignment and Future Scalability
Optimizely CMS aligns with the organisation's digital strategy, including goals for personalization, A/B testing, and omnichannel delivery. The platform supports future scalability, including cloud-native deployment and integration with AI-driven content tools.
The Estimate value below is based on the initial three year contract. The extension options are two, one year extensions.
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Total value (estimated)
- £1,080,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 18 December 2025 to 17 December 2028
- Possible extension to 17 December 2030
- 5 years
Description of possible extension:
Two possible, one year extensions
Main procurement category
Goods
CPV classifications
- 48500000 - Communication and multimedia software package
Contract locations
- UKG33 - Coventry
Submission
Enquiry deadline
6 October 2025, 12:00pm
Tender submission deadline
13 October 2025, 12:00pm
Submission address and any special instructions
Tenders may be submitted electronically
Yes
Languages that may be used for submission
English
Award decision date (estimated)
20 October 2025
Award criteria
| Name | Type | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | Quality | 60% |
| Commercial | Price | 40% |
Other information
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure
Procedure type
Open procedure
Contracting authority
Coventry University
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PMMH-2339-NMGH
Priory Street
Coventry
CV1 5FB
United Kingdom
Telephone: 07927610243
Email: Procurement@coventry.ac.uk
Region: UKG33 - Coventry
Organisation type: Public authority - sub-central government