---
title: "Market Research - ICT Infrastructure Support - Tape Library Review"
ocid: "ocds-r6ebe6-0000668187"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-r6ebe6-0000668187"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000668187.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000668187.json"
source: "Public Contracts Scotland"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "EAST AYRSHIRE COUNCIL"
published: "2021-09-23"
---

# Market Research - ICT Infrastructure Support - Tape Library Review

Buyer: EAST AYRSHIRE COUNCIL  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-r6ebe6-0000668187

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## Summary

The procurement process, initiated by East Ayrshire Council, focuses on "Market Research - ICT Infrastructure Support – Tape Library Review." This endeavour falls under the goods category within the information and communication technology industry. The procurement is currently in the planning stage, with an important deadline for submissions set for 8th October 2021. The tender aims to gather insights on the supply and indicative costs related to the replacement of aging tape libraries located in Kilmarnock, Scotland. Key associated documentation and additional information can be accessed through the council's digital channels.

This tender presents a significant opportunity for businesses specialising in ICT infrastructure, particularly those handling data storage and tape library systems. Companies capable of providing compatible solutions for tape libraries, such as Quantum Scalar replacements, will find this project aligns with their expertise. Given the potential budget of £150,000 for the equipment, businesses able to offer innovative proposals or cost-effective solutions could enhance their market presence and establish valuable relationships with local government entities.

## Notice

The purpose of this market research questionnaire is to gather information on the supply and approximate/indicative costs of a new Tape Library for EAC. This will allow the client service to review any potential budget shortfall for the delivery of this future project. East Ayrshire Council currently utilise two Quantum Scalar i500 Tape Libraries - one with 2 drives and one with 4 drives. This integrates easily with our disk backup enabling us to have a tiered storage architecture which backs up data to tape. The warranty expires on these in March and April 2022 respectively. The tape library drives are end of service life, therefore we cannot renew the support on these, so our choice is to renew the drives or else renew the whole tape library. In order to keep the support on the drives and the chassis as the one entity, we are seeking to replace the libraries. We have 6 x LTO6 drives in total and approximately 1000 LTO6 tapes. The aim of this project is to replace the tape libraries by consolidating them into the one library, and replace with one similar; we believe the Scalar i6 to be a direct replacement. This would mean less drives and only one library therefore less renewals in the future. We must maintain compatibility with our existing LTO6 tapes so that these can still be read and restored from whilst we wait for the retention periods to expire. We propose to do this by using a mix of LTO7 drives and LTO8 or LTO9 drives. The reason behind this is that LTO8/9 drives can only read back one generation, therefore we require the LTO7 drive to read our LTO6 tapes.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

East Ayrshire Council currently utilise two Quantum Scalar i500 Tape Libraries - one with 2 drives and one with 4 drives. This integrates easily with our disk backup enabling us to have a tiered storage architecture which backs up data to tape. The warranty expires on these in March and April 2022 respectively. The tape library drives are end of service life, therefore we cannot renew the support on these, so our choice is to renew the drives or else renew the whole tape library. In order to keep the support on the drives and the chassis as the one entity, we are seeking to replace the libraries. We have 6 x LTO6 drives in total and approximately 1000 LTO6 tapes. The aim of this project is to replace the tape libraries by consolidating them into the one library, and replace with one similar; we believe the Scalar i6 to be a direct replacement. This would mean less drives and only one library therefore less renewals in the future. We must maintain compatibility with our existing LTO6 tapes so that these can still be read and restored from whilst we wait for the retention periods to expire. We propose to do this by using a mix of LTO7 drives and LTO8 or LTO9 drives. The reason behind this is that LTO8/9 drives can only read back one generation, therefore we require the LTO7 drive to read our LTO6 tapes.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Public Contracts Scotland |
| Latest notice | https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=SEP428524 |
| Notice type | OJEU - F1 - Prior Information Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Not Specified |
| Procurement method details | Not specified |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Planning |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 23 Sep 2021 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 1 Mar 2022 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £150,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Planned |
| Lots status | Planned |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | EAST AYRSHIRE COUNCIL |
| Locality | KILMARNOCK |
| Post town | Kilmarnock |
| Postcode | KA3 7BU |
| Country | Scotland |
| ITL 1 | TLM Scotland |
| ITL 2 | TLM9 Southern Scotland |
| ITL 3 | TLM93 North Ayrshire and East Ayrshire |
| Local authority | East Ayrshire |
| Electoral ward | Kilmarnock East and Hurlford |
| Westminster constituency | Kilmarnock and Loudoun |
| Delivery location | TLM93 North Ayrshire and East Ayrshire |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 32 - Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment
- 44 - Construction structures and materials; auxiliary products to construction (except electric apparatus)
- 50 - Repair and maintenance services
- 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

### Codes

- 32424000 - Network infrastructure
- 32571000 - Communications infrastructure
- 44316400 - Hardware
- 50312610 - Maintenance of information technology equipment
- 72222300 - Information technology services

## Release History

- 23 Sep 2021 at 00:00 - Planning - OJEU - F1 - Prior Information Notice - https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=SEP428524

## Documents

- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/NoticeDownload/DownloadDocument.aspx?id=SEP428524&idx=1
  23rd September 2021 - Market Research Questionnaire - Tape Library
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=SEP428524
  Market Research - ICT Infrastructure Support - Tape Library Review - The purpose of this market research questionnaire is to gather information on the supply and approximate/indicative costs of a new Tape Library for EAC. This will allow the client service to review any potential budget shortfall for the delivery of this future project. East Ayrshire Council currently utilise two Quantum Scalar i500 Tape Libraries - one with 2 drives and one with 4 drives. This integrates easily with our disk backup enabling us to have a tiered storage architecture which backs up data to tape. The warranty expires on these in March and April 2022 respectively. The tape library drives are end of service life, therefore we cannot renew the support on these, so our choice is to renew the drives or else renew the whole tape library. In order to keep the support on the drives and the chassis as the one entity, we are seeking to replace the libraries. We have 6 x LTO6 drives in total and approximately 1000 LTO6 tapes. The aim of this project is to replace the tape libraries by consolidating them into the one library, and replace with one similar; we believe the Scalar i6 to be a direct replacement. This would mean less drives and only one library therefore less renewals in the future. We must maintain compatibility with our existing LTO6 tapes so that these can still be read and restored from whilst we wait for the retention periods to expire. We propose to do this by using a mix of LTO7 drives and LTO8 or LTO9 drives. The reason behind this is that LTO8/9 drives can only read back one generation, therefore we require the LTO7 drive to read our LTO6 tapes.

## Notice URLs

- http://
- http://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk
- https://api.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/v1/Notice?id=ocds-r6ebe6-0000668187
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=668187

## 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-r6ebe6-0000668187. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000668187.json.