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Replacement Load Balancers

UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST OF ENGLAND

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

24 Aug 2026 at 11:12

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The University of the West of England procured a replacement load-balancing solution for its operations in Bristol. The requirement covers network equipment, including replacement load-balancing hardware, F5 Distributed Cloud services, associated software licences, maintenance, technical support, and access to relevant product updates and security patches. This is primarily a technology supply and support requirement rather than construction or consultancy work. The buyer is the University of the West of England, based at its Frenchay Campus. Suppliers would need to provide an integrated load-balancing service, combining physical or virtual infrastructure with cloud services, licensing and ongoing technical support for the university’s network environment.

The procurement is complete and was awarded on 31 July 2026 to CDW Limited. The award value is £211,937.64 including the published currency of GBP. The awarded contract period runs from 1 November 2026 to 31 October 2031, representing a 60-month term. The opportunity was run as a selective procedure and was a call-off from a framework agreement. Bids had to be submitted by 30 July 2026 at 17:00. The procurement’s published estimated value was also £211,937.64. It was classified as a goods requirement for network equipment. The process was not identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises or voluntary, community and social enterprises.

This award shows sustained university demand for enterprise load-balancing infrastructure supported by cloud services and manufacturer-aligned software. A credible future competitor would need to supply replacement hardware, administer F5 Distributed Cloud services and provide the associated licences, maintenance, technical support, updates and patches as one coordinated service. The requirement favours suppliers with the operational capacity to support a university network over a substantial multi-year service commitment, rather than businesses offering equipment only or short-term implementation work. Experience integrating hardware and cloud-based load balancing, managing licensing and maintenance, and delivering responsive technical support would strengthen a supplier’s position when this buyer next tests the requirement through its framework route.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Replacement Load Balancers

Notice Description

This contract is for the supply, licensing and support of a replacement load-balancing solution for UWE. This includes replacement load-balancing hardware, F5 Distributed Cloud services, associated software licensing, maintenance, technical support and access to relevant updates and patches for the duration of the 60-month contract term.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-b5fd17-23c019af-e9ea-43f8-95cc-5bdf5cc88e02
Publication Source
Contracts Finder
Latest Notice
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/fef0c07a-eafd-4121-9950-7f7f519c76e7
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Goods
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Call-off from a framework agreement
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

32 - Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment

CPV Codes

32420000 - Network equipment

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£211,937 £100K-£500K
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£211,937 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
24 Aug 20263 days ago
Submission Deadline
30 Jul 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
31 Jul 20263 weeks ago
Contract Period
1 Nov 2026 - 31 Oct 2031 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Not Specified
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST OF ENGLAND
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
BRISTOL
Postcode
BS16 1QY
Postcode Area
Bristol
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLK South West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLK5 West of England
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLK52 Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
South Gloucestershire
Electoral Ward
Stoke Park & Cheswick
Westminster Constituency
Filton and Bradley Stoke

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

CDW Limited

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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