Provision of Microsoft Azure cloud services, subscription management and associated support services

AI-generated analysis of the documents. Check the official notice and any amendments for current submission details.

1. At a glance

Buyer Title CPV / category Estimated value Per-year Procedure type Lots Location Contract length Submission deadline Go-live / start | :-------------------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :-------------- | :------- | :--------------- | :--- | :------- | :-------------- | :------------------ | :-------------- | Agri-Food Regulator Provision of Microsoft Azure cloud services, subscription management and associated support services 72253000-2 (Software support services), 72212000-0 (Software package services), 72260000-5 (Software package services) €50,000.00 Not stated Open Procedure 1 Ireland 3 years (max) 2026-06-26 16:00 Not stated

2. Scope of Work

The Agri-Food Regulator requires a service provider to manage Microsoft Azure cloud services, including subscription management and associated support. The contract operates on a consumption-based, pay-as-you-go billing model. The estimated value for this procurement is €50,000.00, with the contract having a maximum potential term of three years, comprising an initial term and up to two one-year extensions.

The contractor's responsibilities include:

• Provision of Microsoft Azure Services:
• Single Database, vCore, General Purpose, Serverless, Standard-series (Gen 5), Locally Redundant, 2 Billed vCores, LRS Backup Storage Redundancy, 0 GB Point-In-Time Restore, 2 x 5 GB Long Term Retention.
• Azure Data Factory V2 Type, Data Pipeline Service Type, Azure Integration Runtime: 5 Activity Runs, 100 Data movement units, 20 Pipeline activities, 0 Pipeline activities – External.
• Azure standard support.
• Subscription Management: Supporting the Agri-Food Regulator in managing the Microsoft Azure subscription and associated consumption-based billing.
• Support and Assistance: Providing Azure standard support and related assistance for the procured services.
• Service Availability: Ensuring the Contracting Authority has access to required services throughout the contract term.
• Billing and Reporting: Providing clear pricing, billing, and usage information to facilitate the Agri-Food Regulator's management of Azure consumption and costs.
• Personnel: Assigning suitably qualified and experienced personnel to manage services and act as the primary point of contact.
• Query Resolution: Responding promptly to reasonable queries, issues, or support requests.
• Compliance: Adhering to all applicable legal, regulatory, confidentiality, data protection, security, environmental, social, and labour law obligations.
• Other Responsibilities: Fulfilling any other responsibilities specified in the Request for Tenders (RFT), Pricing Schedule, or Services Contract.

The Contracting Authority does not guarantee any minimum level of spend, consumption, quantity, or volume of services under the contract. Quantities and cost elements in the Pricing Schedule are for tender evaluation and contract management purposes only.

3. Background & buyer context

An Rialálaí Agraibhia, the Agri-Food Regulator, is an independent statutory office established under the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Act 2023. Its remit is to promote fairness and transparency in business-to-business relationships within the agri-food supply chain, with particular regard to the needs of farming, fishing, and small food businesses.

Currently, the Agri-Food Regulator's ICT infrastructure is largely provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine under a Service Level Agreement. As its functions develop, the Agri-Food Regulator is establishing a structured public data infrastructure to support market analysis, reporting, and policy development. This involves collecting and processing publicly available datasets from sources like the Central Statistics Office, Eurostat, and Teagasc.

To support this data infrastructure development and its broader ICT requirements, the Agri-Food Regulator is procuring Microsoft Azure cloud services, subscription management, and associated support. This procurement aims to provide the necessary cloud environment for data collection, processing, and analysis.

4. Eligibility & selection criteria

Bidders must meet the following criteria to be considered:

• Turnover requirement: Not specified for this tender.
• Insurance:
• Employer's Liability: €12.7 million limit for any one claim or series of claims arising out of a single occurrence.
• Public Liability: €6.5 million limit for any one claim or series of claims arising out of a single occurrence.
• Cyber Insurance: €2.5 million in the aggregate per insurance year.
• Professional Indemnity: €1 million in the aggregate per insurance year.
• Certifications:
• Must provide current evidence of authorisation by Microsoft to resell, provision, bill, and support Microsoft Azure cloud services for public sector customers.
• Evidence of Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider status, or equivalent Microsoft authorisation relevant to the proposed subscription and billing model.
• If proposing services via a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement, Enterprise Subscription Agreement, or other enterprise licensing requiring a Licensing Solution Provider, evidence of current Microsoft Licensing Solution Provider status is required.
• Past experience: Must demonstrate successful delivery of two comparable contracts (in scale, nature, quality, and complexity) within the five previous years. Client references are required.
• Personnel: Not specified for this tender.
• Geographic / facility constraints: Not specified for this tender.

Bidders must also confirm:

• General company information.
• Tax compliance.
• Adherence to good employment practices and labour law.
• Adequate data protection measures.
• Adequate measures for sustainable, environmentally friendly service delivery.
• Not to be bankrupt, guilty of corruption, fraud, money laundering, membership of a criminal organisation, or involved in child labour/human trafficking.

5. Award criteria & scoring

The contract will be awarded to the bidder submitting the most economically advantageous tender, based on the best price-quality ratio.

Bidders must achieve a minimum of 40% of the marks available for the qualitative criteria (A and B combined) to avoid elimination. The tender with the lowest cost will receive the maximum marks for the cost criterion.

6. Submission requirements

Bidders are required to complete the separate Tender Response Document (TRD). Key submission components include:

• Tender Response Document (TRD): This document contains sections for suitability declarations, client references, certification evidence, qualitative responses, and the pricing schedule.
• Pricing Schedule: Must be completed in full and in accordance with instructions. It is not to be incorporated into other documentation.
• Client References: Two client references demonstrating prior experience with comparable contracts.
• Microsoft Authorisation Evidence: Proof of authorisation to resell, provision, bill, and support Microsoft Azure services for public sector customers.
• Declarations:
• Suitability declarations (company information, tax compliance, insurance, employment practices, data protection, sustainability).
• Bona Fides declarations.
• Tenderer's Statement.
• Submission Method: Via the electronic post box on www.etenders.gov.ie or via email to [email protected].
• Tender Validity: Pricing must remain valid for 180 days from the tender submission deadline.

7. Key dates & process

8. Contract terms that matter

• Term: Initial term of twelve (12) months, with a maximum of two (2) one-year extensions. The total contract term, including extensions, shall not exceed three (3) years.
• Payment Terms: Invoicing arrangements to be agreed. Payment is subject to contractor compliance with the agreement, furnishing valid invoices, and the client possessing the contractor's current Tax Clearance Certificate. Invoices are deemed accepted if no queries are raised within 14 calendar days. The European Communities (Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) Regulations, 2012 apply.
• Key SLAs/KPIs: Not explicitly detailed in the provided text, but qualitative criteria related to query management, escalation, and response times will be assessed.
• Liquidated Damages: Not specified for this tender.
• Termination: Either party may terminate with 3 months' written notice if a breach continues for 30 days after written request. The contract may also be terminated for other reasons as specified in the Services Contract.
• IP Ownership: The Contracting Authority will have copyright ownership of any material developed for its use. The service provider may have a non-exclusive license for its own purposes.
• Sub-contracting: The contractor is the prime contractor and assumes full responsibility for its subcontractors. Sub-contracts must include a right for the contractor to terminate if exclusion grounds apply to the subcontractor. Subcontracting more than 50% of the contract value to third countries subject to an IPI measure is restricted.
• Parent-Company Guarantee/Bond: Not specified for this tender.

9. Risks, red flags & unusuals

• Low Estimated Value vs. Insurance Requirements: The estimated value of €50,000 is significantly lower than the mandatory insurance cover levels (€12.7m EL, €6.5m PL, €2.5m Cyber, €1m PI). This suggests the €50,000 may represent an initial or minimum anticipated spend, not the total contract value over its potential three-year term. Bidders must price for the full potential term and associated risks, not just the stated €50,000.
• No Minimum Spend Guarantee: The RFT explicitly states "The Contracting Authority does not guarantee any minimum level of spend, consumption, quantity or volume of services under the contract." This indicates a high degree of uncertainty regarding actual service usage and revenue for the successful bidder.
• Microsoft Authorisation Requirement: Bidders must hold specific Microsoft partner statuses (Cloud Solution Provider or equivalent, potentially Licensing Solution Provider). This narrows the potential bidder pool to established Microsoft partners.
• Qualitative Weighting: The cost criterion carries a substantial weight (800 out of 1000 marks), indicating that while quality is important, price will be a dominant factor in the award decision. However, a minimum qualitative score is required to avoid elimination.
• Contract Term Flexibility: The contract can be extended for up to two additional 12-month periods, meaning a potential 3-year duration, but the initial value is stated as €50,000. This mismatch requires careful consideration of long-term pricing and service commitment.

10. SME fit assessment

This tender is structured to be accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are established Microsoft partners.

• Who can credibly bid: A viable bidder would be an SME with demonstrable expertise in Microsoft Azure cloud services, subscription management, and support. Crucially, they must hold the required Microsoft partner accreditations (Cloud Solution Provider status or equivalent). The requirement for two comparable past contracts within five years is a standard benchmark.
• Consortium/Sub-contracting: The RFT does not explicitly prohibit consortia. However, the prime contractor is fully responsible for subcontractors, and specific rules apply regarding subcontracting to third countries under IPI measures. Subcontracting is permitted, but the prime contractor bears all liability.
• Indicative bid-prep effort: Preparing a compliant bid will likely require 5-10 days of effort. This includes gathering company information, detailing approaches to licensing, cost management, and account management, securing client references, and completing the pricing schedule and declarations. The primary effort will be in articulating the qualitative responses and ensuring all Microsoft partner documentation is in order.
• Pwin signal: The tender is an open procedure, suggesting it is intended to be competitive. The significant weighting of cost suggests that price competitiveness is key. The requirement for specific Microsoft partner status is a gatekeeper, but within that group, SMEs can compete effectively if they offer competitive pricing and a strong qualitative response. There is no clear indication of an incumbent or a sole-supplier framework.

11. Where to dig deeper

• Source RFT Filename: AFR - Azure RFT v2.1.pdf
• eTenders CFT ID: Not stated in the provided documents.
• Contact for Queries: Via www.etenders.gov.ie (Questions and Answers facility) or email to [email protected].
• Key Attachments:
• Tender Response Document (TRD)
• Pricing Schedule
• Services Contract (Appendix 1)