From Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
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The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) has published a tender competition to establish a central procurement arrangement for ICT Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). This central arrangement, estimated value €60 million, is the first arrangement of its kind in Ireland and can be availed of by all public service bodies regardless of size and scale.
Digitalisation of Public Services is a key priority for the Government of Ireland. The national digital strategy, Harnessing Digital - The Digital Ireland Framework, aims to drive and enable digital transition across the Irish economy and society. Connecting Government 2030, the Digital and ICT Strategy for Ireland’s Public Service, further outlines government plans to be a European leader in Digital Public Services. Adoption of cloud services is a key enabler of this digital transformation ambition. The new arrangement will support public service bodies in their adoption of cloud services through providing easy access to the best available on demand and scalable compute, storage and networking IaaS solutions. The tender process will conclude in Q4 2023 with the central arrangement available shortly thereafter.
Speaking about the new arrangement Minister of State with responsibility for public procurement and eGovernment, Ossian Smyth, said:
“With Cloud technology, the state rapidly delivered vaccination and test scheduling and contact tracing services during the pandemic. These systems proved resilient during the HSE cyberattack in 2021. Now, outside of a crisis, the state needs this technology to offer rapidly scalable public services. OGP has launched a ground-breaking competition, which will enable public bodies to digitise the services that they offer. The new central procurement arrangement will enable these bodies to procure IaaS solutions in a way that is compliant with all relevant regulations and is efficient and easy to use for both buyers and suppliers. Cloud service providers have long sought a central procurement arrangement for cloud services and I acknowledge the market’s engagement with this consultation process with OGP that preceded this competition."
The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) is shaping the future of public procurement by integrating procurement policy, strategy and operations and through the provision of advice, guidance and training to public service bodies across the State. The OGP is led by the government’s Chief Procurement Officer and is an office of the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.