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Renewal of Durham County Council's Microsoft Agreement via NHSSBS DWS2

Durham County Council

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

04 Aug 2026 at 16:39

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Durham County Council procured the renewal and upgrade of its Microsoft licensing arrangements, covering a range of Microsoft products and including a move from E3 to E5 packages. The requirement is for licensing goods and related licence management, intended to support the council’s technology estate and users across Durham County Council. Delivery is associated with the North East of England. The council is the buying organisation. This is a renewal of an existing agreement rather than a wholly new technology deployment, with the selected supplier updating the council’s current Microsoft licensing package. The opportunity is therefore relevant to organisations supplying Microsoft licences, upgrades and associated account or agreement management services.

The procurement is complete and was awarded to Softcat Plc on 11 May 2026. The award value is £8,611,161.33 including the published currency of GBP. The contract runs from 1 June 2026 to 31 May 2029. Durham County Council used a selective procedure as a direct award call-off from the NHS SBS DWS2 framework, because an existing contract was in place. The tender submission deadline was 30 April 2026 at 12:00. The main category was goods, classified under CPV 48218000 for licence management software packages. The procurement was identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises, and the award is active.

For competitors, this award demonstrates substantial recurring public-sector demand for Microsoft licensing renewals and upgrades, particularly transitions from E3 to E5 across a council environment. A credible future supplier would need strong knowledge of Microsoft’s licensing portfolio, entitlement management, renewal planning and upgrade pathways, together with the capacity to support a large public organisation and manage a complex, multi-product agreement. Experience supplying councils or other regulated customers would help, as would the ability to operate through an established framework call-off route. Smaller firms were considered suitable for this requirement, so relevant licensing specialists and capable SME partners may be well placed to develop the necessary framework access, Microsoft expertise and delivery capacity.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Renewal of Durham County Council's Microsoft Agreement via NHSSBS DWS2

Notice Description

Durham County Council have a requirement to renew and upgrade current Microsoft Licensing packages for a variety of products including the move from E3 to E5. There is an existing contract in place and therefore, the incumbent supplier has been approached to update the agreement, via direct award utilising the NHS SBS DWS2 framework agreement.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-b5fd17-e3cb5f58-76d7-48b0-a7f4-c876caa4602d
Publication Source
Contracts Finder
Latest Notice
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/3394fca2-ab29-4eeb-9e9e-3feb35b8d963
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
SME
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

48 - Software package and information systems

CPV Codes

48218000 - License management software package

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£8,611,161 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
4 Aug 20262 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
11 May 20264 months ago
Contract Period
1 Jun 2026 - 31 May 2029 3-4 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
Durham County Council
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
DURHAM
Postcode
DH1 5UQ
Postcode Area
Durham
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLC North East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLC4 Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLC41 Durham
Delivery Location
TLC North East (England)
Local Authority
County Durham
Electoral Ward
Framwellgate & Newton Hall
Westminster Constituency
City of Durham

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Softcat Plc

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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