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planningFind a Tender · planning

Microsoft Business Central Delivery and Support Partner

Buyer: Department for Education →

BuyerDepartment for Education
Statusplanning
DeadlineNot published
Value£6,750,000
Published9 Jul 2026

What is being bought

This procurement relates to the appointment of an accredited Microsoft Solutions Partner (with Microsoft Business Applications accreditation) to provide specialist support, maintenance, development, enhancement and consultancy services for the Department’s core finance system, based on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (currently hosted on-premises within Azure Cloud, with a future roadmap to migrate to the SaaS platform). The contract is intended to ensure the ongoing stability, performance, resilience and evolution of this business-critical platform and its associated Microsoft technology estate. The Supplier shall possess the technical expertise and capability to support, maintain and develop the wider Microsoft application environment, including Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, Microsoft SQL Server databases, integration services, Power Platform, Copilot, Logic Apps and associated Microsoft technologies. The scope of the requirement includes the provision of 2nd and 3rd line support services delivered against agreed service levels and key performance indicators (KPIs), including incident response and resolution times based on the priority and severity of incidents. The Supplier will be responsible for incident, problem and change management, code development, code deployment, system enhancements and continuous service improvement activities. The Supplier will assume responsibility for the support, maintenance, performance optimisation and ongoing development of all existing custom code, extensions, integrations, Logic Apps, Power Platform solutions, Copilot capabilities, workflows and associated components within the Business Central environment. The Supplier will deliver platform upgrades, release and deployment management, technical architecture support, integration services, disaster recovery planning and testing, business continuity support, security and assurance activities, and all associated documentation and knowledge transfer activities. The Supplier will ensure the continued availability, resilience, recoverability, scalability and performance of the platform, whilst maintaining alignment with Microsoft's product roadmap and delivering ongoing enhancements to support the Department's evolving business and operational requirements. It is anticipated that the Supplier will act as the conduit for the administration and ongoing management of software licences, maintenance agreements, support contracts and enhancement services relating to third-party solutions used within the environment. This includes, but is not limited to, Microsoft enhancements, Insights JET Enterprise, the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) Application provided via MITL Ltd, Continia (OCR), and the Miracle Pay Application provided via EQE2. The Supplier will be responsible for coordinating these arrangements and ensuring continuity of the associated services throughout the contract term. The Supplier shall work collaboratively with internal Department for Education stakeholders and the Department’s contracted managed service provider to support the effective operation, maintenance and continuous improvement of the service, ensuring appropriate governance, communication, knowledge sharing and alignment across all parties. Overall, the requirement encompasses the full range of specialist services necessary to maintain, support, enhance and develop the Department’s Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central environment and associated Microsoft technologies, including Microsoft SQL Server databases, integrations, Logic Apps, Power Platform, disaster recovery and related services.

Categories

Software package and information systems 48000000IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support 72000000Software programming and consultancy services 72200000Project management software development services 72212331Custom software development services 72230000System and support services 72250000Software support services 72261000Software development services 72262000Software supply services 72268000

Lot details

Lot 1

No lot description published.

Statusplanning
Contract periodFrom 1 Jun 2027 to 31 May 2030

What is included

ItemCategoryQuantity
1System and support services, IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support, Software support services, Software development services, Custom software development services, Software programming and consultancy services, Software package and information systems, Project management software development services, Software supply servicesNot published

Comparable-procurement analytics

Benchmarked against retained Find a Tender procedures with CPV division 48. The category anchor is Software package and information systems (48000000); this is a deliberately broad market comparator. The comparison is shown at several levels rather than pretending one company or region is always the best benchmark.

Comparison setProceduresReported bids per procedureNamed award suppliersPrice evidence
Market: CPV division 483,1361 median · 5.9 average (1,023 of 3,136 with a bid count)1.5 average (1,148 of 3,136 with named award suppliers)Not published
Same buyer5Not publishedNot publishedNot published
Similar published value (0.5×–2×)153Not publishedNot publishedNot published

“Reported bids” is an official aggregate, sometimes reported per lot; it is the closest available competition measure. “Named award suppliers” are winners, not all applicants.

Price-outcome signal

Not enough comparable procedures currently publish both a GBP tender value and a usable lowest-valid-bid value to calculate a responsible price-reduction benchmark. Tenderline deliberately does not infer a saving from named award suppliers or from missing award values.

Procurement strategy & market signals

Framework agreementNot published
Dynamic purchasing systemNot published
Competitive procurementNot published
Recurring requirementNot published
Procurement method rationaleNot published
Rationale classificationsNot published
Special regimeNot published
Covered byNot published
Submission policyNot published
Selection criteriaNot published
Risk detailsNot published

Planning & early market engagement

BudgetValue not published
No-engagement rationaleNot published
Planning documents1
Planning milestones1
MilestoneTypeDueStatus
For the engagement process, the Department will undertake early market engagement to inform the development of the procurement. This will include a virtual supplier engagement event on 30 July, 13:00 – 13:30 during which the Commercial and Project leads will present an overview of the requirement, the proposed scope of services, and indicative procurement timelines. Following the event, suppliers will be invited to provide feedback via a Microsoft Forms questionnaire. Feedback gathered will be used to help shape the procurement approach. Suppliers wishing to participate should register on the Jaggaer portal at this link: https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html and submit an expression of interest for the event titled ‘ssq_807 - Microsoft Business Central Delivery Partner’. Invites for the event will issued no later than 24 hours before the event.engagement14 Aug 2026scheduled

Related procurements

No linked framework, prior procurement or reprocurement published.

Documents & submission route

Source data inventory

Diagnostic view. “Not published” means this current release does not provide a value.

OCIDocds-h6vhtk-06c7b7
Latest release ID064798-2026
Latest release timestampThu Jul 09 2026 14:06:20 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Sourcefind-a-tender
Official notice URLNot published
Tender statusplanning
Procurement methodNot published
Procurement method detailsNot published
Main procurement categoryservices
Above thresholdYes
Legal basis2023/54
Tender period: startNot published
Tender period: endNot published
Expression of interest deadlineNot published
Enquiry deadlineNot published
Award period: startNot published
Award period: endNot published
Submission method detailsNot published
Submission languagesNot published
Electronic catalogue policyNot published
Total tender value£6,750,000
Tender lots in source1
Tender items in source1
Tender documents in source0
Awards in latest release0
Contracts in latest release0
Parties in latest release1

Notice history

DateEventReference
9 Jul 2026planning064798-2026

All source data

Unmodified official OCDS data retained by Tenderline for this procurement process.

Complete current OCDS release JSON
{
  "id": "064798-2026",
  "tag": [
    "planning"
  ],
  "date": "2026-07-09T15:06:20+01:00",
  "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-06c7b7",
  "buyer": {
    "id": "GB-PPON-PDZG-3487-DPVD",
    "name": "Department for Education"
  },
  "tender": {
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    "lots": [
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        "contractPeriod": {
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          "startDate": "2027-06-01T00:00:00+01:00",
          "maxExtentDate": "2033-05-31T23:59:59+01:00"
        }
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    ],
    "items": [
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            "id": "72000000",
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            "description": "IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support"
          },
          {
            "id": "72261000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Software support services"
          },
          {
            "id": "72262000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Software development services"
          },
          {
            "id": "72230000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Custom software development services"
          },
          {
            "id": "72200000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Software programming and consultancy services"
          },
          {
            "id": "48000000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Software package and information systems"
          },
          {
            "id": "72212331",
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            "description": "Project management software development services"
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          {
            "id": "72268000",
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          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "title": "Microsoft Business Central Delivery and Support Partner",
    "value": {
      "amount": 6750000,
      "currency": "GBP",
      "amountGross": 8100000
    },
    "status": "planning",
    "legalBasis": {
      "id": "2023/54",
      "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents",
      "scheme": "UKPGA"
    },
    "description": "This procurement relates to the appointment of an accredited Microsoft Solutions Partner (with Microsoft Business Applications accreditation) to provide specialist support, maintenance, development, enhancement and consultancy services for the Department’s core finance system, based on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (currently hosted on-premises within Azure Cloud, with a future roadmap to migrate to the SaaS platform). The contract is intended to ensure the ongoing stability, performance, resilience and evolution of this business-critical platform and its associated Microsoft technology estate.\nThe Supplier shall possess the technical expertise and capability to support, maintain and develop the wider Microsoft application environment, including Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, Microsoft SQL Server databases, integration services, Power Platform, Copilot, Logic Apps and associated Microsoft technologies.\nThe scope of the requirement includes the provision of 2nd and 3rd line support services delivered against agreed service levels and key performance indicators (KPIs), including incident response and resolution times based on the priority and severity of incidents. The Supplier will be responsible for incident, problem and change management, code development, code deployment, system enhancements and continuous service improvement activities. The Supplier will assume responsibility for the support, maintenance, performance optimisation and ongoing development of all existing custom code, extensions, integrations, Logic Apps, Power Platform solutions, Copilot capabilities, workflows and associated components within the Business Central environment.\nThe Supplier will deliver platform upgrades, release and deployment management, technical architecture support, integration services, disaster recovery planning and testing, business continuity support, security and assurance activities, and all associated documentation and knowledge transfer activities. The Supplier will ensure the continued availability, resilience, recoverability, scalability and performance of the platform, whilst maintaining alignment with Microsoft's product roadmap and delivering ongoing enhancements to support the Department's evolving business and operational requirements.\nIt is anticipated that the Supplier will act as the conduit for the administration and ongoing management of software licences, maintenance agreements, support contracts and enhancement services relating to third-party solutions used within the environment. This includes, but is not limited to, Microsoft enhancements, Insights JET Enterprise, the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) Application provided via MITL Ltd, Continia (OCR), and the Miracle Pay Application provided via EQE2. The Supplier will be responsible for coordinating these arrangements and ensuring continuity of the associated services throughout the contract term.\nThe Supplier shall work collaboratively with internal Department for Education stakeholders and the Department’s contracted managed service provider to support the effective operation, maintenance and continuous improvement of the service, ensuring appropriate governance, communication, knowledge sharing and alignment across all parties.\nOverall, the requirement encompasses the full range of specialist services necessary to maintain, support, enhance and develop the Department’s Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central environment and associated Microsoft technologies, including Microsoft SQL Server databases, integrations, Logic Apps, Power Platform, disaster recovery and related services.",
    "communication": {
      "futureNoticeDate": "2026-10-26T23:59:59+00:00"
    },
    "aboveThreshold": true,
    "mainProcurementCategory": "services"
  },
  "buyerID": [],
  "parties": [
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      "id": "GB-PPON-PDZG-3487-DPVD",
      "name": "Department for Education",
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      "address": {
        "region": "UKI32",
        "country": "GB",
        "locality": "London",
        "postalCode": "SW1P3BT",
        "countryName": "United Kingdom",
        "streetAddress": "Sanctuary Buildings, 20 Great Smith Street"
      },
      "details": {
        "classifications": [
          {
            "id": "publicAuthorityCentralGovernment",
            "scheme": "UK_CA_TYPE",
            "description": "Public authority - central government"
          }
        ]
      },
      "identifier": {
        "id": "PDZG-3487-DPVD",
        "scheme": "GB-PPON"
      },
      "contactPoint": {
        "email": "Commercial.DDAT@education.gov.uk"
      }
    }
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "planning": {
    "documents": [
      {
        "id": "064798-2026",
        "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/064798-2026",
        "format": "text/html",
        "noticeType": "UK2",
        "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
        "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
        "datePublished": "2026-07-09T15:06:20+01:00"
      }
    ],
    "milestones": [
      {
        "id": "engagement",
        "type": "engagement",
        "status": "scheduled",
        "dueDate": "2026-08-14T23:59:59+01:00",
        "description": "For the engagement process, the Department will undertake early market engagement to inform the development of the procurement. This will include a virtual supplier engagement event on 30 July, 13:00 – 13:30 during which the Commercial and Project leads will present an overview of the requirement, the proposed scope of services, and indicative procurement timelines.\nFollowing the event, suppliers will be invited to provide feedback via a Microsoft Forms questionnaire. Feedback gathered will be used to help shape the procurement approach.\nSuppliers wishing to participate should register on the Jaggaer portal at this link: https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html and submit an expression of interest for the event titled ‘ssq_807 - Microsoft Business Central Delivery Partner’. Invites for the event will issued no later than 24 hours before the event."
      }
    ]
  },
  "initiationType": "tender"
}
Complete JSON history (1 releases)
9 Jul 2026 · 064798-2026 · planning
{
  "id": "064798-2026",
  "tag": [
    "planning"
  ],
  "date": "2026-07-09T15:06:20+01:00",
  "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-06c7b7",
  "buyer": {
    "id": "GB-PPON-PDZG-3487-DPVD",
    "name": "Department for Education"
  },
  "tender": {
    "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-06c7b7",
    "lots": [
      {
        "id": "1",
        "status": "planning",
        "hasRenewal": true,
        "description": null,
        "contractPeriod": {
          "endDate": "2030-05-31T23:59:59+01:00",
          "startDate": "2027-06-01T00:00:00+01:00",
          "maxExtentDate": "2033-05-31T23:59:59+01:00"
        }
      }
    ],
    "items": [
      {
        "id": "1",
        "relatedLot": "1",
        "additionalClassifications": [
          {
            "id": "72250000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "System and support services"
          },
          {
            "id": "72000000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support"
          },
          {
            "id": "72261000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Software support services"
          },
          {
            "id": "72262000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Software development services"
          },
          {
            "id": "72230000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Custom software development services"
          },
          {
            "id": "72200000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Software programming and consultancy services"
          },
          {
            "id": "48000000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Software package and information systems"
          },
          {
            "id": "72212331",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Project management software development services"
          },
          {
            "id": "72268000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Software supply services"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "title": "Microsoft Business Central Delivery and Support Partner",
    "value": {
      "amount": 6750000,
      "currency": "GBP",
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    },
    "status": "planning",
    "legalBasis": {
      "id": "2023/54",
      "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents",
      "scheme": "UKPGA"
    },
    "description": "This procurement relates to the appointment of an accredited Microsoft Solutions Partner (with Microsoft Business Applications accreditation) to provide specialist support, maintenance, development, enhancement and consultancy services for the Department’s core finance system, based on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (currently hosted on-premises within Azure Cloud, with a future roadmap to migrate to the SaaS platform). The contract is intended to ensure the ongoing stability, performance, resilience and evolution of this business-critical platform and its associated Microsoft technology estate.\nThe Supplier shall possess the technical expertise and capability to support, maintain and develop the wider Microsoft application environment, including Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, Microsoft SQL Server databases, integration services, Power Platform, Copilot, Logic Apps and associated Microsoft technologies.\nThe scope of the requirement includes the provision of 2nd and 3rd line support services delivered against agreed service levels and key performance indicators (KPIs), including incident response and resolution times based on the priority and severity of incidents. The Supplier will be responsible for incident, problem and change management, code development, code deployment, system enhancements and continuous service improvement activities. The Supplier will assume responsibility for the support, maintenance, performance optimisation and ongoing development of all existing custom code, extensions, integrations, Logic Apps, Power Platform solutions, Copilot capabilities, workflows and associated components within the Business Central environment.\nThe Supplier will deliver platform upgrades, release and deployment management, technical architecture support, integration services, disaster recovery planning and testing, business continuity support, security and assurance activities, and all associated documentation and knowledge transfer activities. The Supplier will ensure the continued availability, resilience, recoverability, scalability and performance of the platform, whilst maintaining alignment with Microsoft's product roadmap and delivering ongoing enhancements to support the Department's evolving business and operational requirements.\nIt is anticipated that the Supplier will act as the conduit for the administration and ongoing management of software licences, maintenance agreements, support contracts and enhancement services relating to third-party solutions used within the environment. This includes, but is not limited to, Microsoft enhancements, Insights JET Enterprise, the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) Application provided via MITL Ltd, Continia (OCR), and the Miracle Pay Application provided via EQE2. The Supplier will be responsible for coordinating these arrangements and ensuring continuity of the associated services throughout the contract term.\nThe Supplier shall work collaboratively with internal Department for Education stakeholders and the Department’s contracted managed service provider to support the effective operation, maintenance and continuous improvement of the service, ensuring appropriate governance, communication, knowledge sharing and alignment across all parties.\nOverall, the requirement encompasses the full range of specialist services necessary to maintain, support, enhance and develop the Department’s Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central environment and associated Microsoft technologies, including Microsoft SQL Server databases, integrations, Logic Apps, Power Platform, disaster recovery and related services.",
    "communication": {
      "futureNoticeDate": "2026-10-26T23:59:59+00:00"
    },
    "aboveThreshold": true,
    "mainProcurementCategory": "services"
  },
  "buyerID": [],
  "parties": [
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      "id": "GB-PPON-PDZG-3487-DPVD",
      "name": "Department for Education",
      "roles": [
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        "region": "UKI32",
        "country": "GB",
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        "postalCode": "SW1P3BT",
        "countryName": "United Kingdom",
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      },
      "details": {
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      },
      "identifier": {
        "id": "PDZG-3487-DPVD",
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        "email": "Commercial.DDAT@education.gov.uk"
      }
    }
  ],
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        "id": "064798-2026",
        "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/064798-2026",
        "format": "text/html",
        "noticeType": "UK2",
        "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
        "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
        "datePublished": "2026-07-09T15:06:20+01:00"
      }
    ],
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        "id": "engagement",
        "type": "engagement",
        "status": "scheduled",
        "dueDate": "2026-08-14T23:59:59+01:00",
        "description": "For the engagement process, the Department will undertake early market engagement to inform the development of the procurement. This will include a virtual supplier engagement event on 30 July, 13:00 – 13:30 during which the Commercial and Project leads will present an overview of the requirement, the proposed scope of services, and indicative procurement timelines.\nFollowing the event, suppliers will be invited to provide feedback via a Microsoft Forms questionnaire. Feedback gathered will be used to help shape the procurement approach.\nSuppliers wishing to participate should register on the Jaggaer portal at this link: https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html and submit an expression of interest for the event titled ‘ssq_807 - Microsoft Business Central Delivery Partner’. Invites for the event will issued no later than 24 hours before the event."
      }
    ]
  },
  "initiationType": "tender"
}