---
title: "Unit 4 Upgrade"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-04c047"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04c047"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04c047.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04c047.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX(THE)"
published: "2024-11-26"
---

# Unit 4 Upgrade

Buyer: UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX(THE)  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-04c047

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## Summary

The University of Sussex has awarded a contract to Unit4 Business Software Limited for the upgrade and cloud migration of their U4ERP (Unit4 Enterprise Resource Planning) application, which is a critical part of the university's financial operations infrastructure. The contract, valued at £864,096, was signed on 18 November 2024. The procurement falls within the software-related services category and was necessitated by an urgent need to transition to cloud services due to the discontinuation of support for perpetual licences by Unit4 post 31 December 2024. The procurement was executed using a limited method without prior publication of a call for competition, justified under Regulation 32(2)(c) due to unforeseen and extreme urgency.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses specialising in financial software systems, cloud migration services, and IT infrastructure support. Companies with expertise in enterprise resource planning systems, particularly those familiar with Unit4's solutions, will be well-positioned to compete for similar future opportunities. Moreover, businesses offering complementary services such as e-invoicing, contract management, and research costing platforms may find growth potential through collaborative projects with large educational institutions like the University of Sussex. The procurement underscores the importance of agility and readiness to respond to urgent client needs in the technology services sector.

## Notice

The U4ERP (Unit4 Enterprise Resource Planning) application is the system used by the entire university for the management and control of its finances and core financial operations. The application is essential IT infrastructure as it provides accounting functionality with end-to-end financial operations capability, which enables budget allocation and management across the whole university. It is also the system that handles all expense claims (staff & students), procurement, accounts receivable (commercial), accounts payable, estates inventory management, fixed assets management, , accounting and financial management, accounting for capital and projects, commitment accounting and reporting. Included in the contract is also e-invoicing functionality, together with contract management, and an option to migrate to Unit4's new partner for providing a research costing & pricing platform. The firm also provides support and maintenance under this contract. In addition, U4ERP will also be hosted by Unit4 in the cloud.

### Procurement Information

Regulation 32(2)(c) permits the award of a public contract for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable by the contracting authority; the time limits for the open or restricted procedures or competitive procedures with negotiation cannot be complied with. The University considers that its reliance on Regulation 32(2)(c) is justified for the following reasons: The University has a perpetual license for the The U4ERP (Unit4 Enterprise Resource Planning and receives annual maintenance and support from Unit4 Business Software Limited (Unit4). On 17 October 2023 Unit4 announced that it would no longer provide maintenance and support services for perpetual licences or any on-premises solutions post 31 December 2024, meaning that due to these unforeseen events University have to sign the contract by end of 2024 and migrate the existing solution to Unit4's own cloud services within the 3 year contract period. The Unit4 system is an essential part of the University infrastructure such that any down time or system failure would have a detrimental effect on the running of the University services. Unit4's announcement that it would cease to provide maintenance and support services for on-premises solutions post 31 December 2024 was not foreseeable by the University and has given rise to a situation of extreme urgency in which the University must ensure that its ERP systems do not become unsupported post 31 December 2024. It is the University position that the time period provided by Unit4 before the ERP system becomes unsupported is insufficient to undertake the intricate process of compiling detailed business requirements for a new solution, perform an exhaustive market analysis, execute a comprehensive open procurement exercise, and deploy a new system prior to 31 December 2024. The decision to award a contract pursuant to Unit4 pursuant to Regulation 32(2)(c) is therefore considered to be strictly necessary in a situation of extreme urgency, to ensure business continuity for the University. This approach will also provide the necessary time to conduct wider assessment of its infrastructural IT provision - with respect to Finance, HR and Procurement and ensure that any future procurement decisions align with the University best interests and value for money obligations.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/038237-2024 |
| 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 | 26 Nov 2024 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 18 Nov 2024 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £864,096 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX(THE) |
| Locality | BRIGHTON |
| Post town | Brighton |
| Postcode | BN1 9RH |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ2 Surrey, East and West Sussex |
| ITL 3 | TLJ21 Brighton and Hove |
| Local authority | Brighton and Hove |
| Electoral ward | Coldean & Stanmer |
| Westminster constituency | Brighton Pavilion |
| Delivery location | TLJ21 Brighton and Hove |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | UNIT4 BUSINESS SOFTWARE |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

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

### Codes

- 72260000 - Software-related services

## Release History

- 26 Nov 2024 at 17:37 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/038237-2024

## Notice URLs

- https://www.sussex.ac.uk/

## 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-04c047. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04c047.json.