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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 01:00

OJEU - F15 - Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The University of the West of Scotland bought a 24/7 managed service for its existing Student Information System (SIS), which was undergoing an upgrade. The service covers externally managed SIS hosting and support, maintaining continuity while the university’s project team completes the upgrade. This is an information technology services requirement, classified under CPV 72000000. Delivery covers Paisley, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, the Borders and London. The buyer is the University of the West of Scotland, based in Paisley. The requirement relates specifically to supporting the university’s existing platform and its upgrade programme, rather than supplying a new student information system. The contract covers service provision across the stated locations for the university’s users and affected project stakeholders.

The procurement has been completed and awarded to R D B Concepts Ltd. It used a limited procedure without prior publication of a call for competition, justified on the basis that the existing system’s technical limitations and ongoing upgrade made a change of managed service and hosting provider likely to cause disruption, additional cost and delay. The contract was signed on 15 July 2026 for a one-year renewal and is active. Its value is £621,259.08. There was one lot, covering the complete managed service requirement, with no additional purchase options. The award was made under a route stated to fall outside the scope of the relevant directive, and the procurement was covered by the Government Procurement Agreement.

This outcome indicates demand for specialist suppliers able to operate and support an established student information system rather than implement a replacement platform. A credible competitor for a future requirement would need 24/7 managed-service capability, strong hosting and systems-management expertise, and experience supporting complex higher-education technology environments. Technical knowledge of legacy or constrained platforms would be important, particularly where the system is being upgraded and service continuity affects a live university operation. Suppliers would also need the capacity to support users and project stakeholders across multiple locations, work alongside an existing upgrade team, and control disruption, cost and delivery risk during technical change. The incumbent supplier is an SME, showing that a suitably capable specialist business can meet this scale of requirement.

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-r6ebe6-0000837559
Publication Source
Public Contracts Scotland
Latest Notice
https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=JUL560295
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
OJEU - F15 - Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency 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
Complete
Awards Status
Not Specified
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

Notice Documents

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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