Notice Information
Notice Title
T117 Digital Services Platform - Support, Maintenance and Enhancement
Notice Description
Northern Ireland Water is responsible for the supply and distribution of drinking water and the provision of sewerage services for approximately 840,000 domestic, agricultural and business customers across Northern Ireland. Background and Context NI Water has an established Digital Services platform that underpins high volume, customer facing and internal services, supporting both external users and staff across multiple directorates. The current Digital Services platform comprises: * a public facing customer self service portal, and * an enterprise case management and workflow solution, integrated with a range of legacy and modern systems supporting operational, financial and regulatory processes. The existing contract for the delivery of these services is approaching expiry. NI Water therefore intends to undertake a competitive procurement to appoint a delivery partner to provide ongoing support, maintenance, transition and enhancement services, and to enable the platform to evolve in line with future business needs. Nature of the Requirement The appointed supplier will be expected to support a live, business critical platform, ensuring continuity of service while enabling controlled change and improvement. The scope of services is expected to include (high level summary): * Application support and maintenance * Incident, defect and service request management * Transition and knowledge transfer activities at contract commencement * Fixed price, milestone based enhancement delivery * Release, change and testing management in line with NI Water governance * Information governance, cyber security and regulatory compliance * Performance reporting and participation in governance forums Further detail will be provided during the formal procurement process. Future Direction NI Water intends to deliver a rolling programme of enhancements over the life of the contract, prioritised in line with business need, funding approval and governance. NI Water's objective is to work with a supplier that can: * take over and operate a live enterprise digital estate with minimal disruption, and * support the continuous, controlled evolution of the platform over the contract term.
Planning Information
Prior to the publication of the Participation Stage Questionnaire (PSQ), NI Water intends to undertake pre market engagement to: • provide suppliers with a high level overview of the requirement and procurement approach; • outline anticipated scope, constraints and timelines; and • offer an opportunity for clarification at a non binding, pre procurement stage. This engagement will take the form of confidential supplier information sessions. Supplier Information Sessions NI Water expects to offer a limited number of individual supplier sessions, each of approximately one hour and fifteen minutes, to be held between: Monday 27 April and Friday 8 May 2026 Key points: • Sessions will be allocated on a first come, first served basis • Sessions will be held in-person at NI Water headquarters, 40 Old Westland Road, Belfast, BT14 6TE • Attendance is limited to a maximum of two delegates per organisation • Sessions will be structured and consistent to maintain equal treatment How to Register Interest Suppliers wishing to register interest in attending a session should email: sourcing@niwater.com Requests must be received no later than Thursday 23rd April 2026. Important Information • Participation in pre market engagement is optional and will not confer any advantage in any subsequent procurement process. • This notice does not constitute a call for competition or a commitment to proceed with any procurement. • NI Water reserves the right to amend, suspend or cancel its proposed approach. • Any future procurement will be conducted in accordance with applicable UK procurement legislation, the Procurement Act 2023, and will be advertised via the appropriate procurement portals.
Notice Details
Publication & Lifecycle
- Open Contracting ID
- ocds-h6vhtk-0683e3
- Publication Source
- Find A Tender Service
- Latest Notice
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/034569-2026
- 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
- SME
- 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
72100000 - Hardware consultancy services
72200000 - Software programming and consultancy services
72300000 - Data services
72400000 - Internet services
72500000 - Computer-related services
72600000 - Computer support and consultancy services
72700000 - Computer network services
72800000 - Computer audit and testing services
Notice Value(s)
- Tender Value
- £8,000,000 £1M-£10M
- Lots Value
- Not specified
- Awards Value
- Not specified
- Contracts Value
- Not specified
Notice Dates
- Publication Date
- 16 Apr 20261 weeks ago
- Submission Deadline
- Not specified
- Future Notice Date
- 11 May 20263 weeks to go
- Award Date
- Not specified
- Contract Period
- 2 Nov 2026 - 1 Nov 2030 4-5 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
- NORTHERN IRELAND WATER LTD
- Contact Name
- Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
- Contact Email
- Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
- Contact Phone
- Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Buyer Location
- Locality
- BELFAST
- Postcode
- BT14 6TE
- 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)
- TLN06 Belfast
- Delivery Location
- TLN Northern Ireland
-
- Local Authority
- Belfast
- Electoral Ward
- Chichester Park
- Westminster Constituency
- Belfast North
Further Information
Notice Documents
-
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/034569-2026
16th April 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)
View full OCDS Record for this contracting process
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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