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24/7 Managed Service for Student Information System

University of the West of Scotland

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

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16 Jul 2026 at 10:21

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The University of the West of Scotland procured a 24/7 managed service for its existing Student Information System (SIS). The requirement covers continued external management and hosting of the university’s SIS while the system is being upgraded by an established project team. This is an information technology services requirement, including software support and related technical services. The work is associated with the university’s operations in Paisley, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, the Borders and London. The existing platform is managed externally because of technical limitations in its design and development within the university’s environment. The requirement therefore concerns continuity of a live, business-critical student information platform during an upgrade, rather than implementation of a new system.

The procurement is complete and the contract was awarded through a limited procedure without prior publication of a call for competition. The award rationale states that the requirement fell outside the scope of the relevant directive and that only one supplier was considered capable of continuing the existing service without significant disruption, extra cost or delay to the SIS upgrade. R D B Concepts Ltd was awarded the contract for lot 1. The contract was signed on 15 July 2026 and has an awarded value of £621,259.08. The requirement was for a one-year renewal, with no options. The process was evaluated through a single-supplier continuation rationale rather than an open competitive tender.

This procurement indicates demand for suppliers able to provide 24/7 managed services for an established higher-education Student Information System, including external platform management, hosting and technical support. A credible competitor for a future requirement would need to demonstrate strong knowledge of the buyer’s existing SIS environment and the ability to maintain service continuity while a major system upgrade is under way. It would also need to show that its delivery model can avoid disruption to students, staff and the upgrade programme, while controlling additional cost and protecting project delivery timescales. The award to an SME shows that this type of specialist managed-service work can be delivered by a focused provider with relevant platform and transition experience.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

24/7 Managed Service for Student Information System

Notice Description

This contract is for the 1-year renewal of a managed service of UWS' existing Student Information System (SIS), currently being upgraded, with a project team having commenced this work.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition Justification for selected award procedure: The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the Directive Explanation: This contract is for the 1-year renewal of a managed service of its Student Information System (SIS) that is an existing system at the University, currently being upgraded, with a project team having commenced this work. The SIS is managed externally due to technical limitations associated with the design and development of the platform in the UWS environment. It is UWS' belief that at the current time that only one supplier can meet the requirements as any change in the managed service and hosting environment is highly likely to (i) cause a significant amount of disruption to all involved in and affected by the SIS upgrade; (ii) incur significant additional cost for UWS, any (iii) negatively stretch timelines for project delivery. As such, UWS is publishing this voluntary ex-ante notice on Public Contracts Scotland to ensure compliance with procurement regulations and the continuance of its SIS managed service for the next 12 months.

Procurement Information

Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition Justification for selected award procedure: The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the Directive Explanation: This contract is for the 1-year renewal of a managed service of UWS' existing Student Information System (SIS), currently being upgraded, with a project team having commenced this work. The SIS is managed externally due to technical limitations associated with the design and development of the platform in the UWS environment. It is UWS' belief that at the current time, only one supplier can meet the requirements as any change in the managed service and hosting environment is highly likely to (i) cause a significant amount of disruption to all affected by the SIS upgrade; (ii) incur significant additional cost for UWS, any (iii) negatively stretch timelines for project delivery. As such, UWS is publishing this voluntary ex-ante notice on Public Contracts Scotland to ensure compliance with procurement regulations and the continuance of its SIS managed service for the next 12 months.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06cc87
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/067087-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
SME

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

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£621,259 £500K-£1M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
16 Jul 20262 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
University of the West of Scotland
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
PAISLEY
Postcode
PA1 2BE
Postcode Area
Paisley
Country
Scotland
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLM Scotland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLM3 West Central Scotland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLM33 Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire, and Renfrewshire
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Renfrewshire
Electoral Ward
Paisley Northwest
Westminster Constituency
Paisley and Renfrewshire South

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

R D B Concepts Ltd

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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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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