--- title: "Configuration Management Database Solution" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-077dfc" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-077dfc" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077dfc.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077dfc.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "Education Authority NI" published: "2026-09-30" --- # Configuration Management Database Solution Buyer: Education Authority NI Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-077dfc [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-077dfc) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077dfc.json) ## Summary The Education Authority plans to procure a configuration management database (CMDB) for its ICT estate. The system is intended to provide a trusted, accurate, near-real-time view of ICT assets, applications, services and the links between them, serving as a single source of truth. It is intended to reduce manual data maintenance through automation, support Cyber Essentials accreditation and underpin the Authority’s ICT Service Catalogue. The CMDB must integrate with the Authority’s Change Management process and IT service management platform. By mapping dependencies across services, applications and infrastructure, it should help assess proposed changes and their business impacts, supporting planning, testing and communication. The work is for IT services, including software development and support, and is associated with the Education Authority in Belfast. This is at the planning stage: the Education Authority has set out its intention to procure and is conducting preliminary market engagement, not inviting tenders. The engagement is intended to explain potential approaches and gather supplier views and feedback. Suppliers wishing to take part are expected to return a completed questionnaire through the eTendersNI messaging function by 15:00 on 21 October 2026. A future procurement notice is expected on 1 December 2026. The buyer has not set out an expected procurement procedure. The procurement is presented as one lot and is marked as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises. The planned contract period is 1 February 2027 to 31 January 2030, with a possible extension through to 31 January 2032. The published estimated value is £0. This engagement is relevant to suppliers able to configure, integrate or support enterprise CMDB and IT service management solutions. The intended system must connect with an existing change-management process and ITSM platform, automate asset and configuration data maintenance, and map dependencies across applications, services and infrastructure. Suppliers with experience delivering reliable, near-real-time ICT asset and service information, and enabling impact assessment for proposed changes, are well placed to contribute. The Authority’s stated aims include supporting Cyber Essentials accreditation and creating a foundation for an ICT Service Catalogue. The procurement is identified as suitable for SMEs, so smaller providers with the relevant product, integration and implementation capability may be appropriate. At this stage, suppliers can inform the buyer’s thinking through the planned market engagement; this is preparation for a later procurement, not a request for bids. No particular accreditation is stated as a supplier qualification. ## Notice The primary purpose of this preliminary market engagement exercise ("Exercise") is for the Education Authority (EA) to explain, and seek supplier views and feedback on, potential approaches for a Configuration Management Database solution. EA requires a CMDB to provide a trusted, accurate and near-real-time view of its ICT assets, applications, services and the relationships between them. Acting as the single source of truth for the DTS estate, it will reduce manual data maintenance through automation, support Cyber Essentials accreditation and provide the foundation for EA's ICT Service Catalogue. To deliver these outcomes, the CMDB must integrate with EA's Change Management process and ITSM platform. This integration will ensure that trusted configuration and service data informs change assessment, approval and implementation. By mapping the relationships between services, applications and infrastructure components, the CMDB will allow proposed changes to be assessed against known dependencies and potential business impacts before implementation. This visibility will support more reliable planning, testing and communication, giving decision-makers greater confidence that changes can proceed safely. ### Planning Information Suppliers who wish to participate in the PME exercise must return the completed questionnaire via the messaging function of the CfT on eTendersNI no later than 15:00 on Wednesday 21 October 2026. Further information including the questionnaire can be downloaded from the CfT Documents area of CfT 6761471 in https://etendersni.gov.uk/. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/092546-2026 | | 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 | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 30 Sep 2026 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 1 Dec 2026 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 1 Feb 2027 - 31 Jan 2030 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | Not specified | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planning | | Lots status | Planning | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | Education Authority NI | | Locality | BELFAST | | Postcode area | Northern Ireland | | Postcode | BT1 2NQ | | Country | Northern Ireland | | ITL 1 | TLN Northern Ireland | | ITL 2 | TLN0 Northern Ireland | | ITL 3 | TLN06 Belfast | | Local authority | Belfast | | Electoral ward | Duncairn | | Westminster constituency | Belfast North | | Delivery location | Not specified | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support ### Codes - 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support ## Release History - 30 Sep 2026 at 16:14 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/092546-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/092546-2026 30th September 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - https://etendersni.gov.uk/ - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents ## 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-077dfc. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077dfc.json.