---
title: "vFire Maintenance and Support"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-031df8"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-031df8"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-031df8.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-031df8.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "BUSINESS SERVICES ORGANISATION I T S"
published: "2022-03-04"
---

# vFire Maintenance and Support

Buyer: BUSINESS SERVICES ORGANISATION I T S  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-031df8

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[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-031df8.json)

## Summary

The Business Services Organisation I T S has successfully completed a procurement process for the "vFire Maintenance and Support" contract, part of the IT services industry, specifically focusing on consulting, software development, and support. This procurement was initiated under a limited method, bypassing a public call for competition due to the unique proprietary rights of the supplier, Alemba. The contract has been active since it was signed on 9 February 2022, with a total value of £486,796.16. The services are to be delivered at various locations within the UK, ensuring compliance with the required IT Service Management (ITSM) standards.

This contract presents significant opportunities for businesses that specialise in IT service management tools and solutions, particularly those with experience in maintaining and supporting software like vFire. Companies that have a proven track record of compliance with ISO20000 standards and are well-versed in ITIL practices will find themselves well-suited to compete for future contracts as the Business Services Organisation looks to extend its support systems and potentially procure new ITSM tools. With a focus on efficiency and adaptability within the healthcare sector, there is ample scope for service providers to enhance their market positioning and offerings.

## Notice

Alemba are the Global owner of the vFire product. Alemba have worked with HSC since 2007 and have an in-depth knowledge of HSC requirements and where necessary have adapted the product to meet service needs in order to ensure ISO20000 audit compliance and guarantee that the product is aligned to ITIL IT Service Management (ITSM) industry best practice. Alemba is hosted on HSCNI dedicated Servers offering HSCNI more control over the environment and the data contained within the software product.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Alemba are the Global owner of the vFire product. Alemba have worked with HSC since 2007 and have an in-depth knowledge of HSC requirements and where necessary have adapted the product to meet service needs in order to ensure ISO20000 audit compliance and guarantee that the product is aligned to ITIL IT Service Management (ITSM) industry best practice. Alemba is hosted on HSCNI dedicated Servers offering HSCNI more control over the environment and the data contained within the software product. Continuing to have support for the product and the adaptions implemented (e.g. Business Service Transformation Programme adaptions to work with other non-vFire Trusts) will ensure that IT Services will continue to run as effectively as possible. It will also mean that the provision of IT Services can be monitored and reviewed to ensure that HSC customer Service Level Agreement (SLA) targets are met via use of the vFire ITSM toolset. A core ITSM toolset forms a foundation for the move to a NHS Digital Service forecast which is likely to occur over the period of the next four years. This has been highlighted at senior levels of NHS IT Management as a core requirement that HSCNI move onto the one ITSM toolset for all HSCNI Trusts. This is beneficial for a lot of reasons in terms of efficiency, cost effectiveness and simplicity. We intend to extend the existing vFire maintenance and support contract by three years which will lead us to a point at which a new ITSM toolset should be being procured as part of the Digital Shared Services programme. vFire allows BSO ITS and Northern, Southern and South Eastern Trusts to continue to deliver an effective service using a tried and tested product. The withdrawal period for Alemba is 12 months. In two years, we will better informed and will be able to make a much more informed decision on vFire support.

### Procurement Information

Alemba are the Global owner of the vFire product. Alemba have worked with HSC since 2007 and have an in-depth knowledge of HSC requirements and where necessary have adapted the product to meet service needs in order to ensure ISO20000 audit compliance and guarantee that the product is aligned to ITIL IT Service Management (ITSM) industry best practice. Alemba is hosted on HSCNI dedicated Servers offering HSCNI more control over the environment and the data contained within the software product. Continuing to have support for the product and the adaptions implemented (e.g. Business Service Transformation Programme adaptions to work with other non-vFire Trusts) will ensure that IT Services will continue to run as effectively as possible. It will also mean that the provision of IT Services can be monitored and reviewed to ensure that HSC customer Service Level Agreement (SLA) targets are met via use of the vFire ITSM toolset. A core ITSM toolset forms a foundation for the move to a NHS Digital Service forecast which is likely to occur over the period of the next four years. This has been highlighted at senior levels of NHS IT Management as a core requirement that HSCNI move onto the one ITSM toolset for all HSCNI Trusts. This is beneficial for a lot of reasons in terms of efficiency, cost effectiveness and simplicity. We intend to extend the existing vFire maintenance and support contract by three years which will lead us to a point at which a new ITSM toolset should be being procured as part of the Digital Shared Services programme. vFire allows BSO ITS and Northern, Southern and South Eastern Trusts to continue to deliver an effective service using a tried and tested product. The withdrawal period for Alemba is 12 months. In two years, we will better informed and will be able to make a much more informed decision on vFire support.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/005983-2022 |
| 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 | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 4 Mar 2022 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 9 Feb 2022 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £486,796 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | BUSINESS SERVICES ORGANISATION I T S |
| Locality | BELFAST |
| Post town | Northern Ireland |
| Postcode | BT1 4JE |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| ITL 1 | TLN Northern Ireland |
| ITL 2 | TLN0 Northern Ireland |
| ITL 3 | TLN06 Belfast |
| Local authority | Belfast |
| Electoral ward | Central |
| Westminster constituency | Belfast South and Mid Down |
| Delivery location | TLN Northern Ireland |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | ALEMBA |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

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

### Codes

- 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

## Release History

- 4 Mar 2022 at 09:47 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/005983-2022

## Notice URLs

- http://www.hscbusiness.hscni.net

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-031df8. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-031df8.json.