Agenda item

[Report of the Director for Customers, Transformation and Resources.  To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Planning and Corporate Services]

Award contract for the provision of Microsoft software.  Haringey relies on Microsoft as its main enterprise solution for desktop software - particularly spreadsheet, word, email processing, presentation, publishing, remote connections, video conferencing, document storage, operating system and internet browsing.

The Cabinet Member for Planning and Corporate Services introduced the report which sought approval for the award of a contract for the provision of the Council’s Microsoft (MS) licence subscriptions, through a MS Enterprise Agreement, to a MS Licensing Solution Partner (LSP) for a 4 year term from 01/05/2021 to 30/04/2025.  The Cabinet Member advised that there was a price increase associated with the award which was explained by the supplier as being associated with exchange fluctuations and a cost of living increase. The prices only change every three years and so reflect cost changes over that period. Theprices that the Council were paying were the lowest available in the public sector as the Council was entitled to the British Government deal on contact prices, as negotiated by Crown Commercial Services, with Microsoft.

In response to a question from Councillor Cawley-Harrison, the Cabinet Member advised that there were no plans currently to move to any other provider, not least because any potential savings from a different provider would far outweigh the cost and inconvenience of switching from the current provider.

Further to considering exempt information at item 25, 

RESOLVED to

1.         Approve the contract award to the supplier identified within the exempt report (paragraph 1) for a MS Licensing Solution Partner, for the provision of MS license subscriptions, for Haringey Council and Homes for Haringey, for a term of 4-years from 01/05/2021 to 30/04/2025, at a contract value of up to £4,500,000.00. 

2.         Note that a further report would be brought to Cabinet with a business case and funding for the approval of additional functionality licenses MS 365 E5 referred to in Paragraphs 6.13. to 6.15. of this report.

Reasons for decision

Haringey Council and Homes for Haringey’s current MS Enterprise Agreement contract, for the provision of all MS software and technology subscriptions, expires on 30/04/2021, with no option to extend. Without a new contract in place, the council will no longer be able to use any of its MS subscriptions to deliver essential services within the borough.

MS products and services affected should a new contract not be awarded.

·           MS Servers, Active Directory, Windows 10 Laptops (including remote working), MS Office Applications, Office 0365 (Outlook, One Note, Teams, Collaboration, SharePoint, Security), email on mobile phones, hosting of any application or database system

·           Build and security patch management

·           External services provided to the council

MS software is in strategic alignment to the Council’s Digital Roadmap and is a key enabler in delivering essential services to our citizens. Operating without a MS Enterprise Agreement in place would be unmanageable as the council requires active subscriptions to use all applications and services listed above, as well as ensuring all MS products are licensed in a compliant and legal way.

Alternative options considered

No action – Do not award a contract and allow the existing service to end (do not re-commission). Not an option as the council would no longer be able to deliver essential services to our citizens and be non-compliant in terms of software license agreements. Critical systems would be impacted as a direct consequence and we would be unsupported by MS and be unable to deliver security updates, leaving the council vulnerable.

Non-MS software - The council has a major investment in MS technologies which align to the Council’s Digital Roadmap, moving to another platform, e.g., Google or Open Source, would require major rework of not only IT systems, but also business operational processes, and would be a major disruptor for the council. Delivering a new operating platform would take more than a year and has significant risks associated with the implementation. While non-MS software is technically an option, typically the reality is that moving away from MS is not being adopted by other councils.

Tender for a new service without the new MoU discount – The option to undertaking an open tender was rejected. This route offers no advantage over procurement via the CCS framework and would not allow us to access the new MoU discounts, therefore pay a higher cost per licence and extend the timeframe for the procurement process.

Purchase from a framework agreement with the new MoU discount – This is the recommended route to market, completing a competitive procurement tender using the PS discount pricing for the new contract award.