ESMCP Control Rooms - Systel Development Phase 4 2022/23

This procurement seeks to establish a contract between the supplier as a vendor of integrated communications control systems (ICCS) software to the three emergency services (3ES) and the Home Office, specifically the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme ('ESMCP' or the 'Programme'), for the provision of software development and supporting services.

In summary, the service requirements are concerned with the development of a compatible ICCS product upgrade that enables the supplier's control room ICCS product(s) (as deployed to the supplier's UK 3ES customers) to interface to ESN, for the minimum subset of Kodiak 12 (K12) features as set out in the contract schedules.

Kodiak is the mission critical push to talk application (provided by Motorola Solutions UK Limited) used on ESN to connect the 3ES to the EE mobile network (the ESN's mobile network operator). It is critical that the 3ES control rooms are compatible with ESN. If they are not, ESN will not work, and this could endanger life.

This Notice is for the provision of services in connection with the development of Systel's IRIS Solution against Kodiak 12 (K12). It should be noted that the contracting authority may require Systel to provide further development work in the future, as may be relevant for newer versions of the release.

Additional information: The Authority has contracted with a number of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to provide Integrated Communications Control Systems (ICCS) services for the emergency services (3ES). Each OEM has proprietary systems that must be developed to ensure compatibility with the Emergency Services Network (ESN) when it goes live. The Authority has contracted with the relevant OEMs to carry out this development work (i.e. each has a contract to develop their own respective systems). One of those OEMs is Systel, which is carrying out development work on its proprietary system (called IRIS) accordingly. Systel's contract with the Authority, under which it is carrying out that development work, is to be replaced with a new contract with greater scope and increased cost to ensure compatibility against the latest Kodiak iteration (Kodiak 12). Systel is the only supplier that can provide these development services, most notably because it owns the intellectual property rights (IPRs) to IRIS, and does not license them to third party developers who might otherwise be able to do so. The parameters of the procurement are a function of the development work needed to make IRIS ESN compatible. The Authority has already contracted or is in the process of reaching an agreement with the rest of the market, either on a similar basis or under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to make sure that all available ICCS solutions (i.e. Systel's and those of its competitors) are developed to be compatible with ESN. The Authority has actively sought to ensure that competition is maintained across the marketplace. The purpose of this particular procurement is to ensure 3ES users of Systel's IRIS system have an ESN compatible product. This procurement will prevent Systel from being disadvantaged in comparison to the rest of the marketplace, enabling all market players to compete fairly and offer ESN compatible control room solutions when 3ES procure control rooms in the future. The value of the proposed changes to Systel's contract is such that to comply with the PCR 2015 (as amended), the Authority must award a new contract to Systel. The above justifies, the use of a direct award relying on Reg 32(2)(b)(iii), where the services can only be supplied by a particular operator for the protection of exclusive rights including IPRs, no reasonable alternative or substitute exists and the absence of competition is not the result of an artificial narrowing of the parameters of the procurement.