260066 Ongoing utilisation of Oracle Peoplesoft Campus Solutions platform

This report sets out The Queen's University of Belfast intention to award a contract to Oracle Corporation UK Limited for the provision of QSIS Peoplesoft Support.

For the purposes of Section 41(1) and (4) the supplier is not an excluded or an excludable supplier.

The University considers that the award of this contract is justified under Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023 using justification 'Additional or repeat goods, services or works.'

Justification 7 as set out below.

The public contract concerns the supply of goods, services or works by the existing supplier which are intended as an extension to, or partial replacement of, existing goods, services or works in circumstances where -

(a) a change in supplier would result in the contracting authority receiving goods, services or works that are different from, or incompatible with, the existing goods, services or works, and

(b) the difference or incompatibility would result in disproportionate technical difficulties in operation or maintenance.

The current University Student Information System is a business-critical application which is the authoritative source of student data. QSIS is based on the Oracle Peoplesoft Campus Solutions platform, supplied and supported by Oracle Corporation UK Limited.

It supports key processes, including admissions, curriculum management, enrolments, financial records, exams, transcripts and more. It holds the core student records including details about classes, fees, enrolments, and the academic record.

Oracle Corporation UK Limited is the current supplier, and this contract will facilitate the continued use of QSIS.

Given the proprietary nature of the Oracle PeopleSoft platform, the level of institutional configuration, the complexity of the existing integrations, and the operational risk associated with system replacement, a Direct Award to Oracle Corporation for the

continued provision and support of QSIS represents the only practical and proportionate approach at this time. A change in supplier would result in incompatibilities and disproportional technical difficulties in operation.