---
title: "Azure VPN Firewalls Support"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06e7d9"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06e7d9"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e7d9.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e7d9.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Essex County Council"
published: "2026-08-19"
---

# Azure VPN Firewalls Support

Buyer: Essex County Council  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06e7d9

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06e7d9)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e7d9.json)

## Summary

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.

## Notice

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.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079107-2026 |
| 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 |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 19 Aug 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 19 Aug 2026 |
| Contract period | 2 Sep 2026 - 1 Sep 2028 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £151,843 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Essex County Council |
| Locality | CHELMSFORD |
| Postcode area | Chelmsford |
| Postcode | CM1 1QH |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLH East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLH3 Essex |
| ITL 3 | TLH36 Heart of Essex |
| Local authority | Chelmsford |
| Electoral ward | Moulsham and Central |
| Westminster constituency | Chelmsford |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | RACKSPACE LIMITED |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

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

### Codes

- 72261000 - Software support services

## Release History

- 19 Aug 2026 at 15:20 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079107-2026
- 19 Aug 2026 at 15:16 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079100-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079107-2026
  19th August 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079100-2026
  19th August 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.rackspace.com/en-gb

## 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-06e7d9. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e7d9.json.