Procurement description
The PSBA contract represents a high-value (estimated to be circa £50m per year), high profile (affecting over 110 organisations, 640 GP surgeries and almost 5,000 public sector sites (including over 1,500 schools) across Wales) and complex service area.
The current PSBA service provides a core Welsh Government funded component comprising:
○ A core Wide Area Network (WAN);
○ The 24hrx7days a week x365 days a year service desk;
○ Engineering teams;
○ Service teams;
○ A rolling programme of network upgrades and improvement that keep pace with the exponential rise in public sector demand for connectivity services;
○ Individual contracts for a call-off catalogue of services available to PSBA users;
○ An ‘E-sports’ facility;
○ Cloud connectivity; and
○ An integrator function for the public sector in Wales, which includes the purchasing of:
○ Fully-managed WAN services using any combination of Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS), Software Defined (SD) WAN, Ethernet, Internet, Mobile Data or more from a range of communications providers;
○ Secure roaming services to connect people on the move;
○ Resilient WebSafe services to determine if content should be blocked;
○ Direct internet services with high-capacity network connectivity;
○ Robust firewalls and other security services;
○ Consultancy and strategic advice to support network and associated infrastructure projects; and
○ Peering capability enabling the connection of internet networks and traffic exchange.
The service provision is complex as it needs to aggregate purchased services from different providers
Procurement Scope
● Continue to provide scalable and flexible always on, resilient and robust connectivity services and efficient service management to Recipient Organisations
● Maintain a dynamic service to deliver best value to the public sector in Wales at all points
● Exploit existing investment in the PSBA network unless and until there is a business case for change;
● Maintain network services that support the increased sharing of information, collaboration and integration of services across public sector organisations;
● Ensure stability and continuity of network services for the public sector during transition from the current PSBA service to PSBA’s successor(s);
● Provide a network service that facilitates Welsh Government in driving growth, delivering jobs and developing wealth (now to include social value and move to digital delivery of services for best user experience); and
● Provide an ICT infrastructure platform capable of supporting future technology evolution in the supply and demand of services to public sector organisations.