Dear Sir

I refer to the request, which you have made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for records held by this service.

Acknowledgement

Your request was received by this department on 05 July 2022.

A final decision on your request would normally be sent to you within 20 working days of receipt of your request. This means that you can expect to receive your decision by the end of 02 August 2022.

There are some limited situations under the Freedom of Information Act, which could mean that the period for a final decision may be longer than the normal 20 working days. If this occurs in your request, we will promptly advise you in writing.

Yours sincerely
Information Rights Officer

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Dear Mr Thompson

Subject: Freedom of Information - Resources and Digital - IT

I refer to your request for information dated 05/07/2022 made under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.

In accordance with the Act, we are able to provide the information you
have requested.

Please see the response attached.

Please note:
Access to the information in response to your request is provided under
the Freedom of Information Act. To re-use the information for other
purposes (including commercial purposes) you must make a request under the
Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations (2015). You can do this by
writing to Information Rights Officer, Corporate Services and Governance,
1st Floor, Civic Centre, Regent Street, Gateshead, NE8 1HH or email
[1][Gateshead Council request email]. You may be required to pay a fee or
comply with conditions for permitted re-use.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you may apply
to the Strategic Director of Corporate Services and Governance, Civic
Centre, Regent Street, Gateshead, NE8 1HH, for an internal review of the
decision. This will be a fresh consideration of your request by a more
senior officer. If you wish to request a review you must do this in
writing within 40 days of receipt of this letter.

Following the internal review if you are still unhappy you have a right to
complain to the Information Commissioner as specified below:
Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire
SK9 5AF
[2]www.ico.org.uk

Yours faithfully

Kris Atkinson
 

Kris Atkinson

IT Business Officer

IT Services

Gateshead Council

Regent Street

Gateshead

NE8 1HH

Tel: 0191 433 3769

Fax: 0191 477 0000

Email: [3][email address]

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Gateshead Council request email]
2. http://www.ico.org.uk/
3. mailto:[email address]

Dear Mr Thompson

Subject: Freedom of Information - Resources and Digital - IT

I refer to your request for information dated 05/07/2022 made under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.

In accordance with the Act, we are able to provide the information you
have requested.

1. What are the contractual performance KPI's for this contract?

N/A – No KPI’s were included for this requirement.

2. Suppliers who applied for inclusion on each framework/contract and were
successful & not successful at the PQQ & ITT stages

Further Competition was issued to all suppliers on the KCS Professional
Services Framework Y17038.
Successful Supplier was Trustmarque Solutions Limited.

Unsuccessful Suppliers were:
Bytes Software Services
Comparex UK Ltd
Phoenix Software Ltd
Softcat plc
Software Box Limited

3. Actual spend on this contract/framework (and any sub lots), from the
start of the contract to the current date

£2,700,000

4. Start date & duration of framework/contract?

01/01/20 – 31/12/22

5. Could you please provide a copy of the service/product specification
given to all bidders for when this contract was last advertised?

SPECIFICATION

The intention of this call off is to set up an agreement with a single
Provider to provide Microsoft Licences to Gateshead Council (the Council)
for the duration of the agreement. This will cover any licence for Cloud
based or on-premise Microsoft technologies, desktop and server-based
licences.

For information, the Councils Microsoft 365 tenancy domain is
[1]“name”@gateshead.onmicrosoft.com and the Microsoft Enterprise
Subscription Agreement enrolment ID is 86977274.

The Council also have access to purchase licences via MPSA and CSP
agreements depending on the requirement.

The service requirements to be provided by the successful Provider under
this agreement will be to provide a comprehensive ‘licence needs
assessment’ of the full Council user base to identify the optimum licence
requirement to cost effectively meet business needs and reduce the risk of
non-compliance. This licence needs assessment will also be used to confirm
the final number of licences to be ordered before the renewal date of the
Council’s Microsoft Enterprise Subscription Agreement. It is expected that
the licence needs assessment will be carried out as part of the Provider’s
standard offering and the Council does not expect to incur any additional
costs for this service.

The first licence needs assessment must commence within 14 days of the
contract start date and must be completed and signed off by the Council by
30th November 2019 to allow the Council sufficient time to place the ESA
renewal order ahead of the 31st December 2019 anniversary date. Thereafter
it should be carried out annually ahead of the Year 2 and Year 3 ESA true
up orders ensuring the Council maintain optimum licence levels for the
whole user base (the numbers of licences provided in the pricing schedule
are for evaluation purposes only and do not represent a yearly commitment
by the Council). The Council gives no guarantee of business through this
contract.

In addition to the licence needs assessment the successful Provider will
be required to provide pre-sales and ongoing licence advice on Microsoft
products, purchase order management, invoice payment processing, and
attend quarterly on-site account management meetings to ensure they
deliver an efficient, effective and fit for purpose customer service.

The quarterly account management meetings must also include the
opportunity for regular licence skills and knowledge transfer sessions on
Microsoft licensing for up to five Council officers. These sessions must
be delivered free of charge.

The purchase order management required under this contract should include
the addition of any purchased licences to the Microsoft portal within a
maximum of 10 days following any order.

The successful Provider will be required to have a dedicated team of
Microsoft licensing experts available to answer all related Microsoft
licensing queries between the minimum business hours of 8.30am-5pm, Monday
to Friday. Licensing experts must be contactable via direct telephone and
email. The successful Provider will be required to provide regular updates
on the current Microsoft licensing changes incorporating technology
roadmap briefings on what’s new in the Microsoft software portfolio which
are relevant to the Council’s licences, products and future plans.

The Council may wish to purchase consultancy services on an ad hoc basis
throughout the lifespan of the agreement to enable it to investigate new
Microsoft technologies. Providers are requested to provide day rates for
this service in their pricing schedule. Please note this pricing is to be
provided for information purposes only and will not be evaluated, and the
Council provides no guarantee of business for consultancy services through
this contract.

6. Is there an extension clause in the framework(s)/contract(s) and, if
so, the duration of the extension?

No

7. Has a decision been made yet on whether the framework(s)/contract(s)
are being either extended or renewed?

Requirements currently being reviewed.

8. Who is the senior officer (outside of procurement) responsible for this
contract?
Roy Sheehan,
Service Director for IT

Please note:
Access to the information in response to your request is provided under
the Freedom of Information Act. To re-use the information for other
purposes (including commercial purposes) you must make a request under the
Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations (2015). You can do this by
writing to Information Rights Officer, Corporate Services and Governance,
1st Floor, Civic Centre, Regent Street, Gateshead, NE8 1HH or email
[2][Gateshead Council request email]. You may be required to pay a fee or
comply with conditions for permitted re-use.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you may apply
to the Strategic Director of Corporate Services and Governance, Civic
Centre, Regent Street, Gateshead, NE8 1HH, for an internal review of the
decision. This will be a fresh consideration of your request by a more
senior officer. If you wish to request a review you must do this in
writing within 40 days of receipt of this letter.

Following the internal review if you are still unhappy you have a right to
complain to the Information Commissioner as specified below:
Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire
SK9 5AF
[3]www.ico.org.uk

Yours faithfully

Kris Atkinson

Kris Atkinson

IT Business Officer

IT Services

Gateshead Council

Regent Street

Gateshead

NE8 1HH

Tel: 0191 433 3769

Fax: 0191 477 0000

Email: [4][email address]

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. mailto:“name”@gateshead.onmicrosoft.com
2. mailto:[Gateshead Council request email]
3. http://www.ico.org.uk/
4. mailto:[email address]

Dear Mr Thompson

Subject: Freedom of Information - Resources and Digital - IT

I refer to your request for information dated 05/07/2022 made under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.

In accordance with the Act, we are able to provide the information you
have requested.

1. What are the contractual performance KPI's for this contract?

No KPI’s were included within this requirement.

2. Suppliers who applied for inclusion on each framework/contract and were
successful & not successful at the PQQ & ITT stages

Further competition was issued to all suppliers under the CCS Technology
Products RM3733 framework.

The successful supplier was Computacenter.

The unsuccessful suppliers were:
Bytes Software Services
Capita IT Services Ltd
CDW Limited
Insight Direct (UK) Ltd
Specialist Computer Centres plc

3. Actual spend on this contract/framework (and any sub lots), from the
start of the contract to the current date

£205,000

4. Start date & duration of framework/contract?

01/03/20 – 28/02/23

5. Could you please provide a copy of the service/product specification
given to all bidders for when this contract was last advertised?

1. SPECIFICATION
1.1 The intention of this Further Competition is to renew the Citrix
Virtual Apps and Desktops Premium and Citrix VPX licenses as outlined
within the price appendix for the Authority for a 3-year term. This
agreement will also cover any other Citrix license requirements for the
term of the agreement. The expiry date of our existing licenses is 11th
February 2020 and the successful supplier should work with the Authority
to ensure these are renewed with Citrix on time.
1.2 The successful Provider will be required to provide pre-sales and
ongoing license advice on Citrix products, purchase order management,
invoice payment processing, and license renewal options ahead of the
Councils next expiry date. The successful Provider will be required to
have a dedicated team of Citrix licensing experts available to answer all
related Citrix licensing queries between the minimum business hours of
8.30am-5pm, Monday to Friday. Licensing experts must be contactable via
direct telephone and email. The successful Provider will be required to
provide regular updates on Citrix licensing changes which are relevant to
the Councils agreement.
1.3 All quotations are to be sourced from Lot 2 under the CCS Technology
Products 2 framework agreement (RM3733)

6. Is there an extension clause in the framework(s)/contract(s) and, if
so, the duration of the extension?

No

7. Has a decision been made yet on whether the framework(s)/contract(s)
are being either extended or renewed?

No

8. Who is the senior officer (outside of procurement) responsible for this
contract?

Roy Sheehan,
Service Director for IT Services

Please note:
Access to the information in response to your request is provided under
the Freedom of Information Act. To re-use the information for other
purposes (including commercial purposes) you must make a request under the
Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations (2015). You can do this by
writing to Information Rights Officer, Corporate Services and Governance,
1st Floor, Civic Centre, Regent Street, Gateshead, NE8 1HH or email
[1][Gateshead Council request email]. You may be required to pay a fee or
comply with conditions for permitted re-use.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you may apply
to the Strategic Director of Corporate Services and Governance, Civic
Centre, Regent Street, Gateshead, NE8 1HH, for an internal review of the
decision. This will be a fresh consideration of your request by a more
senior officer. If you wish to request a review you must do this in
writing within 40 days of receipt of this letter.

Following the internal review if you are still unhappy you have a right to
complain to the Information Commissioner as specified below:
Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire
SK9 5AF
[2]www.ico.org.uk

Yours faithfully

Kris Atkinson

Kris Atkinson

IT Business Officer

IT Services

Gateshead Council

Regent Street

Gateshead

NE8 1HH

Tel: 0191 433 3769

Fax: 0191 477 0000

Email: [3][email address]

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Gateshead Council request email]
2. http://www.ico.org.uk/
3. mailto:[email address]