Provision of a Managed Networks Service with a Capital Funded Technical Refresh

The University of Exeter is embarking on a journey to transform its IT provision and move to Digital Services which underpin the University's aspiration to combine teaching excellence and high levels of student satisfaction with world class research. The University's Network is a key foundation stone in this journey and it needs to be a solid platform on which the other Digital services can be built. To this end the University is looking for a partner to join it on this journey transforming the Network/Telecoms provision of today into the connected campus of tomorrow.

Suppliers that would like to express an interest in this opportunity must do so at the following URL: https://uk.eu-supply.com/login.asp?B=EXETER; suppliers are required to search for and select the appropriate tender from the list of current opportunities.

Once suppliers have expressed an interest, they will be required to complete and upload the Supplier Information Form and NDA via the correspondence function on the CTM portal. Please ensure that the NDA is signed with a wet ink signature as electronic signatures are not acceptable. Once confirmed as a bona fide supplier the Procurement Documents that set out the information about the project available at this time will be sent to you via the CTM portal.

The network service experience should be the same regardless of the method of connection (LAN, WIFI, External), the only difference perhaps being the layer of security. Communication with other users should also be possible without worrying about location or device. Security is paramount to the University's success the network must utilise modern security technologies and configuration to mitigate and proactively alert on attacks. This includes the ability for the University to gain and maintain accreditations such as Cyber Essentials and ISO27001. Unified Communications is replacing traditional telephony, the University of Exeter increasingly needs its staff and students to be able to communicate and collaborate from a variety of devices. The University is keen to understand how it can improve its existing telecoms provision and enable its staff and students to collaborate whilst still being able to provide traditional telephone capabilities.

The network hardware refresh is a priority and the new hardware needs to underpin the University's vision and manage the growth in use expected as more services turn to cloud computing.

Currently the University has separate contracts for each of the network services included in the scope of the project: LAN, WAN, Wi-Fi, Fixed voice and mobile telecoms. The managed service elements of the project will bring together disparate contracts under one supplier, who the University internal networks team will build a strong partner relationship with. The current estate must be supported by this partner from day one of the contract and assist the University on its journey to any new technologies installed.