Scope
Description
The service includes renting rack space in the provider's data centre facility, establishing connectivity between our sites and the existing disaster recovery site, along with related services.
Contract 1. BC/DR co-location and connectivity
Supplier
Contract value
- £385,786.14 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Earliest date the contract will be signed
17 December 2025
Contract dates (estimated)
- 5 January 2026 to 5 January 2028
- 2 years, 1 day
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 72251000 - Disaster recovery services
- 72317000 - Data storage services
- 72510000 - Computer-related management services
- 72720000 - Wide area network services
Contract locations
- UKJ4 - Kent
Participation
Particular suitability
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
Other information
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure
Procedure type
Direct award
Direct award justification
- Single supplier - technical reasons
- Extreme and unavoidable urgency
Moat Homes Limited considers that this direct award is permitted, relying on the direct award justifications for single supplier - technical reasons and extreme and unavoidable urgency.
In relation to the single supplier technical reasons justification, Moat already has established disaster recovery and Business Continuity (DR/BC) co-location services in place with CustodianDC. The proposed contract is, in substance, an extension of that existing arrangement to address a material resilience risk at our sites and to deliver a coherent, end-to-end DR/BC and hosting solution. The current production and DR/BC environments are designed, hosted and operated as an integrated solution with Custodian. Introducing an alternative supplier at this point would require substantial re-engineering, data migration and re-testing of the Authority's infrastructure and failover arrangements. This would create disproportionate technical and operational difficulty and significantly increase the risk of disruption to critical services. In practice, there are no reasonable alternative solutions that could be implemented within the required timescales without incurring those risks, and for technical reasons, only CustodianDC is capable of supplying the required services at this time.
In relation to the extreme and unavoidable urgency justification, Moat has recently identified and experienced a significant degradation in the resilience of the infrastructure supporting one of our sites. As a consequence, there is now a heightened and credible risk of an unplanned loss of service if the current arrangements are not urgently remediated. Taking into account the time needed to define requirements, run a compliant competitive process, appoint a new supplier and then transition and stabilise services, Moat has concluded that it is not possible to complete a competitive tendering procedure and implement an alternative solution within the time available to mitigate that risk. The services to be procured under this contract are limited to what is necessary to address the immediate resilience risk and ensure continuity of services while a longer-term solution is developed and, where appropriate, competitively procured. In these circumstances, a direct award to CustodianDC is considered necessary for reasons of extreme and unavoidable urgency and cannot reasonably be achieved through an open or competitive flexible procedure within the required timeframe.
Supplier
CUSTODIANDC LIMITED
- Companies House: 07878023
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PMZR-7316-ZPPQ
Vinters Business Park
Maidstone
ME14 5NZ
United Kingdom
Email: operations@custodiandc.com
Website: https://www.CustodianDC.com/
Region: UKJ45 - Mid Kent
Small or medium-sized enterprise (SME): Yes
Voluntary, community or social enterprise (VCSE): No
Contract 1. BC/DR co-location and connectivity
Contracting authority
Moat Homes Limited
- Charity Commission (England and Wales): 17434R
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PNCG-6417-GJNY
Mariner House, Galleon Boulevard, Crossways
Dartford
DA2 6QE
United Kingdom
Region: UKJ43 - Kent Thames Gateway
Organisation type: Public authority - sub-central government