Official UK procurement notice
002817 RFI - SaaS Managed File Transer (MFT) Solution
Authority: British Library Board (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe British Library’s current fragmented transfer mechanisms are inefficient and does not meet our current needs. We are seeking a SaaS Managed File Transfer (MFT) platform to provide a standardized secure, controlled, auditable, automated and scalable digital file transfer to handle multi-terabyte size data. This solution should strengthen collaboration with external partners and address persistent challenges such as variable partner technology capabilities and inconsistent practices.
The purpose of this exercise is to refresh our understanding of the MFT tools currently available, that will enable the British Library to continue its progress toward a more standardised approach. This includes ensuring we can meet the data transfers needs both internally and externally – a variety of file formats including images and recordings, be broadly compatible with partners of diverse size partners (single donors, large publishers, private and public business), reporting and auditing, as well as the key business processes and capabilities that will underpin organisational planning and decision‐making during this period.
CPV: File security software development services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How British Library Board buys Programming services of packaged software products (CPV 7221), and who usually turns up
British Library Board’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Programming services of packaged software products (CPV 7221) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Here, local means registered in Greater London (authority’s region).
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in Greater London.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 84 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid0% / 4%
2–360% / 32%
4–640% / 33%
7+0% / 32%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate43% / 46%
Within ±2%57% / 34%
Above estimate0% / 20%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 7221No real estimate
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 90 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid8%
2–332%
4–631%
7+29%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Below threshold
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 14 May 2026, 07:27 BST
- Last source update
- 14 May 2026, 07:27 BST
- Authority reference
002817- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-044176- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06984aFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
14 May 2026 → 5 Jun 2026 · 3 dates- Planning notice published160 days ago14 May 2026, 07:27 BST
- Contract starts159 days ago15 May 2026, 00:00 BST
- Market engagement137 days ago5 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
We are seeking a SaaS Managed File Transfer (MFT) platform to provide a standardized secure, controlled, auditable, automated and scalable digital file transfer to handle multi-terabyte size data. This solution should strengthen collaboration with external partners and address persistent challenges such as variable partner technology capabilities and inconsistent practices.
5.RFI Timetable
Publish RFI14 May 2026
Initial Responses returned by05 June 2026
Shortlist and Clarifications12 June 2026
PresentationsTBC
RFI Concludes 19 June 2026
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published14 May 2026, 07:27 BSTUK2
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender