Planning

Integrated Project Management Information System (PMIS) Preliminary Market Engagement

THE UNIVERSITY OF ULSTER

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

02 Dec 2025 at 12:18

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The University of Ulster, situated in Coleraine, is currently in the planning stage of procurement for an Integrated Project Management Information System (PMIS). This tender follows Microsoft's announcement to decommission its Project Online system by September 2026. The procurement, under the title "Integrated Project Management Information System (PMIS) Preliminary Market Engagement," aims to replace the existing system with a scalable, secure, and future-proof solution. This process anticipates a tender competition publication via eTendersNI with an estimated contract timeline starting on 1st April 2026 and potentially running up till 31st March 2030. The procurement is categorised under IT services, inclusive of consulting, software development, and support, making it pertinent to the UKN region within Northern Ireland.

This tender offers substantial opportunities for businesses specialising in IT services, particularly those experienced in software implementation and supply. Companies that can deliver comprehensive project portfolio management, financial integration, task management, and data migration from existing systems would be well-suited to compete. With a gross contract value estimated at £264,000, this procurement presents a significant prospect for businesses capable of providing strategic alignment, project execution, reporting, analytics, and an intuitive user experience. Businesses with a strong capability in offering scalable digital solutions that support strategic to operational reporting levels are encouraged to express interest as the resulting system will be a critical infrastructure for managing Ulster University's project data effectively.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Integrated Project Management Information System (PMIS) Preliminary Market Engagement

Notice Description

Ulster University has been using Microsoft's Project Online (POL) system since 2019. Following Microsoft's recent announcement to decommission Project Online in September 2026 with some system functionality ceasing from April 2026, the University is looking for alternative solutions from potential service providers in the marketplace to deliver the following aims: . - Establish a "single source of truth" for all project data. - Standardise templates, reports, and processes. - Future Capability to integrate with our financial systems. The new system should be the source of truth for project-level financials. - Be scalable, secure, and future proof. - Support strategic, executive, and operational reporting levels. - Usability of the system is considered key. - Migrate the current POL data and system to the future system. . We are seeking options available to the University currently available in the market to include: . - Strategic alignment, prioritisation and what-if analysis; - Portfolio, programme and project management; - Project planning, management, and execution; - Task management; - Financial management; - Reporting and analytics; - Benefits management; - Risk and issue management; - Change request management; - Dependency management; - POL Migration process; and - Intuitive User Experience and Interface.

Planning Information

The Preliminary Market Engagement for this requirement has now been concluded. A Request for Information (RFI) was issued on eSourcingNI on 26-Sep-25 under Project Code: Project_28878 / RFI Ref: PQQ_4683 which closed on 10-Oct-25. 10 completed PME responses were received and the University opted to not follow up with any further engagement meetings / demonstrations due to sufficient information received from respondents following a short clarification period. F01: Prior information notice (prior information only) Notice identifier: 2025/S 000-060231 Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-05a369 The University initially believed this procurement was going to be below threshold but following indicative costs received in PME responses, we now believe this will be above threshold hence why this PME notice is retrospective. It is anticipated that the resulting tender competition will be published via eTendersNI under CFT ID 6282386 in early 2026, however this is subject to change along with estimated tender publication date and contract start & end dates stated in this PME notice.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05ecd1
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078867-2025
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

CPV Codes

72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

72263000 - Software implementation services

72268000 - Software supply services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£220,000 £100K-£500K
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
2 Dec 20252 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
12 Jan 20262 months to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
31 Mar 2026 - 31 Mar 2028 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
THE UNIVERSITY OF ULSTER
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
procurement_enquiries@ulster.ac.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
COLERAINE
Postcode
BT52 1SA
Post Town
Northern Ireland
Country
Northern Ireland
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLN Northern Ireland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLN0 Northern Ireland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLN0C Causeway Coast and Glens
Delivery Location
TLN Northern Ireland, TLN0 Northern Ireland, TLN06 Belfast, TLN0C Causeway Coast and Glens
Local Authority
Causeway Coast and Glens
Electoral Ward
University
Westminster Constituency
East Londonderry

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts. 

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