SCW - Contract for the Provision of General Practice IT support services (722) - Market Engagement

NHS South Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) (the commissioner) wishes to commission flexible and scalable Primary Care Technical Support services on behalf of our current and future Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) customers, to provide all aspects of Information Technology Technical Support Services (ITS) to their Primary Care General Practices.

This notice is to inform the market of the upcoming tender opportunity. We ask interested parties to complete the Market sounding questionnaire which can be accessed on the e-procurement system intend https://in-tendhost.co.uk/scwcsu/aspx/Home.

SCW currently provide a range of IT and System support services to 22 customer CCGs across the South of England.

The services in the contract are likely to include (but are not limited to) the following:

• IT service delivery (Service Desk) - includes the services and activities which coordinate and respond to Incidents, and Service Requests made by both end-users and technical staff. • IT Desk side support - Desktop Support Services includes a complete suite of services to support hardware, software assets and connectivity at SCW supported sites. • Active Directory Management - Support and Management of Active Directory Domain environment, ensuring that Digital Assets remain secure and are accessible only by authorised users. • Network and Communications Infrastructure support - IT Network and Communications Infrastructure support includes the services and activities required to manage, coordinate and respond to Incidents, arising with IT connectivity • Server Infrastructure Support - Server Infrastructure Support Services includes a complete suite of services to support server hardware and software assets and their connectivity and security • Asset Lifecycle Management - Management of capital assets throughout their lifecycle! • Anti-virus Support services - A comprehensive, N3 resident ,centrally managed and administered Anti-Virus & Anti-Malware solution which meets NHS Digital standards to facilitate protection of all PC and server endpoints. • Backup services - Encrypted Backup of data and replication to a remote site to enable Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity. • Cyber Security services - Cyber Security services providing assurance and support in respect of infrastructure, data and resident digital assets which are managed by SCW.

The Service Specification will be aligned to the GP IT Services 2016-18 Operating Model 'Securing Excellence in GP IT Services' and the GP IT Operating model Addendum. Suppliers must adhere to the service standards as defined in the GP IT Operating Model & Addendum and all updates or amendments to or successor(s) to the model.

The contract is due to begin on 1st April 2020 and will be for an initial contract term of 3 years, with the option to extend by a further two 12 month periods (3+1+1).This procurement is being carried out by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit.

Additional information: This notice is an information gathering exercise rather than a call for competition in its own right, and therefore publication or response does not commit the commissioner or respondents to a future procurement, nor provide any process exemptions or preferential treatment to any parties expressing an interest. Commissioners are looking to establish what interest there might be in providing such a service from suitably qualified, capable and competent organisations.

SCW will not be liable for costs incurred by any interested party in participating in this exercise. Interested parties should note that a response to this notice does not guarantee an automatic invitation to any subsequent formal procurement, which the commissioners will consider in due course.

Please note this Early Engagement Notice has been issued purely to gauge potential interest in the service, and does not currently form part of any formal procurement process.

We ask interest parties to complete the Market sounding questionnaire which can be accessed on the e-procurement system intend https://in-tendhost.co.uk/scwcsu/aspx/Home.

On registration, please include at least two contacts to allow for access to the system in times of absence.