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Avaya Aura Contact Centre System Replacement

Greater Manchester Combined Authority

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

18 Sep 2026 at 14:50

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Greater Manchester Combined Authority, acting for Greater Manchester Police, is exploring replacement solutions for its Avaya Aura Contact Centre system and associated telephony platform. The service supports the routing of emergency 999 and non-emergency 101 calls to GMP call handlers in its Force Contact, Crime and Operations branch. The system also supports the Cell Allocation Unit, Estates team and IT Service Desk, serving roughly 1,000 to 1,500 users, excluding concurrent-user numbers. This is an IT services requirement covering contact-centre technology, telephony management, software, support and related consultancy. Delivery is for Greater Manchester Police in Greater Manchester. The intended contract is a single planned lot, and the procurement is identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises.

This procurement is at the planning stage. GMCA and GMP are conducting preliminary market engagement to understand available replacement solutions, refine the requirements and help determine the most appropriate route to market. Interested suppliers are being asked to complete a questionnaire, with responses requested by 9 October 2026. This is engagement rather than an invitation to tender: formal tender documents have not yet been issued and the full specification is expected when a formal procurement starts. The planned contract period is from 1 January 2029 to 31 December 2034. The published plan identifies one lot and an estimated value above the applicable threshold. The procurement category is services, with IT services as the relevant classification.

The engagement is relevant to suppliers that design, replace, integrate or support critical public-sector contact-centre and telephony systems. Strong candidates are likely to understand high-availability call routing for emergency and non-emergency services, contact-centre operations, telephony platforms, software integration, user support and service transition. Experience of supporting several operational teams and a user base of approximately 1,000 to 1,500 people would be useful, particularly where service continuity and resilient handling of urgent calls are important. The buyer is seeking market information before finalising its specification and procurement approach, so suppliers can prepare by reviewing their replacement architectures, implementation methods, support models and relevant public-sector or similarly critical-service experience. Small and medium-sized businesses are expressly identified as suitable participants. This is a preparation and engagement exercise, not a contract currently available for bidding.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Avaya Aura Contact Centre System Replacement

Notice Description

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), as the contracting authority for Greater Manchester Police (GMP), would like to hear from suppliers willing to share information about possible replacement solutions for its current Avaya Aura Contact Centre (AACC) system for the management its telephony platform. AACC is a critical component of the telephony platform, enabling the routing of emergency (999) and non-emergency (101) contact to GMP call handlers within its Force Contact, Crime, and Operations branch (FCCO). The system is also used by GMP's Cell Allocation Unit, Estates team, and IT Service Desk, equating to between roughly 1000-1500 users (not concurrent users).

Planning Information

Prior to any procurement process, GMP is undertaking a period of market engagement. This will help the project team define the requirements. Interested parties are invited to complete the short questionnaire included in this document, which will allow GMP to better understand the current market and assist the Force in the development of the final specification and most appropriate route to market. Expressions of interest, and requests to complete the questionnaire can be made by contacting Chris Garner (GMP Procurement Officer) via email at procurement@gmp.police.uk. Clarifications may also be sought via the same address. Please quote reference A1348 on all correspondence. It should be noted that tender documents have not yet been issued for this contract. The full specification will be made available at the start of any formal procurement process. The deadline for receipt of completed responses is 12:00 on Friday 9th October 2026.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-077596
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/088758-2026
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

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
18 Sep 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Jan 2029 - 31 Dec 2034 Over 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
Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
MANCHESTER
Postcode
M1 6EU
Postcode Area
Manchester
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLD North West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLD3 Greater Manchester
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLD33 Manchester
Delivery Location
TLD3 Greater Manchester
Local Authority
Manchester
Electoral Ward
Deansgate
Westminster Constituency
Manchester Central

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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