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Azure VPN Firewalls Support

Essex County Council

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

19 Aug 2026 at 15:20

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

19 Aug 2026 at 15:16

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Essex County Council procured remote support services for its Microsoft Azure and Palo Alto firewall environment. The requirement comprised one Fanatical Support service for Microsoft Azure and one Palo Alto Firewall Networks service, supporting the council’s Azure VPN firewalls. The work is delivered remotely for Essex County Council, whose base is in Chelmsford. The procurement is primarily software support services. This is a public-sector infrastructure support requirement for suppliers able to maintain and support cloud-platform and network-security systems rather than provide general IT services. The awarded requirement covered one lot and was identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community or social enterprise organisations. It therefore provides a useful benchmark for firms supplying remote Azure support, firewall support or closely integrated cloud and network-security services to local authorities.

The procurement is complete and was awarded on 19 August 2026 to Rackspace Limited. Essex County Council used a direct award below the applicable threshold without competition. The award covers the single lot and is active. Its value is £151,843.20 excluding VAT, or £182,211.84 including VAT. The contract period runs from 2 September 2026 to 1 September 2028. A future signature milestone was scheduled for 31 August 2026. The selected supplier is Rackspace Limited. The published outcome identifies software support services as the classification and records the requirement as below threshold. The award was made for Azure VPN Firewall Support, covering Fanatical Support for Microsoft Azure and Palo Alto Firewall Networks. No competitive evaluation criteria are recorded for this direct award.

This procurement demonstrates established demand from Essex County Council for managed support spanning Microsoft Azure and Palo Alto firewall networks. Suppliers seeking to compete when a similar requirement returns would need credible capability in Azure operational support, VPN firewall management and Palo Alto technologies, with the capacity to provide reliable remote service to a local authority. The scope suits businesses that can combine cloud-platform support with network-security expertise, rather than specialists offering only generic helpdesk services or isolated hardware maintenance. The requirement was treated as suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community or social enterprise organisations, indicating that a smaller or mission-led supplier could be relevant if it can demonstrate the necessary technical depth, service resilience and public-sector delivery discipline. Familiarity with local-government environments and clearly defined remote-support arrangements would strengthen credibility.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Azure VPN Firewalls Support

Notice Description

The supplier will provide 1x Fanatical Support for Microsoft Azure and 1x Palo Alto Firewall Networks. This service is to be provided to Essex County Council remotely.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e7d9
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079107-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Below threshold - without competition
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

CPV Codes

72261000 - Software support services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£151,843 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
19 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
19 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Contract Period
2 Sep 2026 - 1 Sep 2028 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Essex 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
CHELMSFORD
Postcode
CM1 1QH
Postcode Area
Chelmsford
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH3 Essex
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH36 Heart of Essex
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Chelmsford
Electoral Ward
Moulsham and Central
Westminster Constituency
Chelmsford

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

RACKSPACE LIMITED

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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