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Find a TenderAwardedContract details notice
Published 9 Mar 2026, 15:15 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

Network Strategy SD-WAN and Security Service Edge (SSE)

Official notice

Authority: General Medical Council (GMC) (Local council)

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitable
Sectors: IT Services & Software (72) Delivery: UK
Published estimate£1,250,000≈ £417k / year · £1,500,000 inc. VAT · 1 value update6.7% below published estimate
Submissions closed 28 May 2026awarded 12 Aug 2026
Awarded to Softcat Plc
Contract term 3 yrsends 19 Jul 2029 · up to 19 Jul 2031 with extensions · starts 20 Jul 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Part C Specification

Background information

  • The current WAN solution is coming to the end of the contract and GMC are looking to move to a new provider and a new WAN Solution across all GMC sites. We have approx. 1,800 staff who work in a remote working hybrid model with only 20% of these are onsite at any one-time. Remote workers connect via VPN into the Manchester and London Datacentres. We are therefore inviting bids from suppliers who can meet the requirements outlined in the sections detailed in the required Lots below.
  • The current GMC WAN adopts point to point ethernet technology and the strategic roadmap is to move to a more flexible Cloud based SD-WAN model.
  • GMC locations:
  • London - Regent’s Place, 350 Euston Road, London, NW1 3JN
  • Manchester – 3 Hardman Street, Manchester, M3 3AW
  • Manchester – 3 Hardman Square, Manchester, M3 3EB
  • Manchester – St James's Buildings, 79 Oxford Street Manchester, M1 6FQ
  • Edinburgh – The Tun, 4 Jackson's Entry, Edinburgh EH8 8PJ
  • Cardiff – Caspian Point 2, Caspian Way, Cardiff Bay, CF10 4DQ
  • Belfast - Bedford House, 16–22 Bedford Street, Belfast, BT2 7FD

Current Wide Area & Internet Networks

  1. The GMC operates from 7 main site in the UK and N. Ireland, namely Manchester (x3), London, Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff.
  • All sites operate on structured cabling systems, the standard being Cat 6.
  • The current GMC WAN is comprised of 7 sites connected together using Ethernet point to point services. This is a manged WAN with service provider Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) at each site.
  • 4 of sites have secondary backup circuits (Manchester 3HS, Manchester 3HSQ, Manchester SJB and London)
  • 2 of the sites provide direct internet connectivity (Manchester 3HS and London)

CPV: Wide area network services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1AwardedRenewal 3 yrsSMEPublished value£1,250,000
Contract period: 20 Jul 2026 – 19 Jul 2029 (3 yrs) · up to 19 Jul 2031 with extensionsValue: £1,250,000 exc. VAT · £1,500,000 inc. VAT
Delivery: UKEligibility: SME eligible
Extensions: Option to extend by 2 periods of 12 months.
72720000 Wide area network services
Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)1
  • Economic & financial standing

    Professional Indemnity - £5 million

What it takes to win
i

How this buyer will score bids.

The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).

Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add more
How bids were scored
Quality: 65%Price: 25%Social value: 10%
Published sub-criteria (3)
  • Quality: 65%
  • Commercial: 25%
  • Social Value: 10%
Published award criteria (3)
  • Quality: As described in ITT
  • Commercial: As described in ITT
  • Social Value: As described in the ITT
Conditions of participation1
  • Economic & financial standing

    Professional Indemnity - £5 million

What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 25 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 2.5 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.

Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Open procedure
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Awarded
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
9 Mar 2026, 15:15 GMT
Last source update
30 Sept 2026, 14:58 BST
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 9 Jul 2026
Authority reference
GMC2460
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-038326
Latest notice
Contract details notice (UK7)
Classification (CPV)
Wide area network services
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06658c Find a Tender
Contract terms summary

As described in ITT

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
28 May 2026, 12:00 BST
Clarification deadline
11 May 2026, 17:00 BST
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

www.mytenders.co.uk ↗

Timeline

9 Mar 2026 → 30 Sept 2026 · 11 dates
  1. Planning notice published221 days ago
    9 Mar 2026, 15:15 GMT
  2. Market engagement199 days ago
    31 Mar 2026, 23:59 BST

    GMC will undertake targeted engagement.

    Suppliers with proven experience in delivering multi-site SD-WAN solutions are invited to express their interest at [email protected]

  3. Next notice expected179 days ago
    20 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
  4. Tender notice published171 days ago
    28 Apr 2026, 09:48 BST
  5. Clarification questions by158 days ago
    11 May 2026, 17:00 BST
  6. Submission deadline141 days ago
    28 May 2026, 12:00 BST
  7. Award decision expected by99 days ago
    9 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
  8. Contract starts89 days ago
    20 Jul 2026, 00:00 BST
  9. Assessment summaries sent66 days ago
    12 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST
  10. Standstill ends56 days ago
    21 Aug 2026, 23:59 BST
  11. Latest notice published16 days ago
    30 Sept 2026, 14:58 BST

Notice history

13 events · 6 releases on Find a Tender · since 9 Mar 2026
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    9 Mar 2026, 15:15 GMT
    UK2
  2. Tender notice published
    28 Apr 2026, 09:48 BST
    UK4
  3. Published value updated to £1,250,000
    28 Apr 2026, 09:48 BST
    was £1,292,000
  4. Status changed to active
    28 Apr 2026, 09:48 BST
  5. Procurement method changed
    28 Apr 2026, 09:48 BST
  6. Deadline published: 26 May 2026, 12:00 BST
    28 Apr 2026, 09:48 BST
  7. Tender notice published
    7 May 2026, 11:04 BST
    UK4
  8. Tender notice published
    20 May 2026, 16:30 BST
    UK4
  9. Deadline moved to 28 May 2026, 12:00 BST
    20 May 2026, 16:30 BST
    +2 days · was 26 May 2026, 12:00 BST
  10. Contract award notice published
    12 Aug 2026, 16:34 BST
    UK6
  11. Status changed to complete
    12 Aug 2026, 16:34 BST
  12. Contract signature expected
    28 Aug 2026, 23:59 BST
    scheduled
  13. Contract details notice published
    30 Sept 2026, 14:58 BST
    UK7
Published amendments (2)

Amendment to the wording in the ITT at paragraphs 106 and 107.

Deadline for submissions extended to 12 noon on 28/05/2026

Routine re-releases (6)
  • 2026-05: 1 release · 7 May 2026
  • 2026-04: 1 release · 28 Apr 2026
  • 2026-03: 1 release · 9 Mar 2026

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1
Awarded value £1,166,6671 award exc. VAT
Bids received 52 from SMEs
Contracts signed 1latest 7 Sept 2026
Awarded toValueDateStatus
Softcat Plc1 Sept 2026 – 31 Aug 2029 · up to 31 Aug 2031Extensions: Option to extend for 2 periods of 12 months.£1,166,66712 Aug 2026Awarded

Contracts

  • Network Strategy SD-WAN & Security Service Edge (SSE) · Softcat Plc

    Signed
    7 Sept 2026
    Value
    £834,718
    Period
    7 Sept 2026 – 6 Sept 2029 · up to 6 Sept 2031 with extensions
    Status
    active
    Extensions
    Option to extend for 2 further periods of 12 months.

    No agreed KPIs: Below £5 million threshold including VAT.

Bid statistics published by the authority

BidsSMEVCSEValid bid range
5final-stage tenders20—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

General Medical Council (GMC)

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PXLD-1125-PGBY 3 Hardman Street, Manchester, North West, M3 3AWContact email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice
  • Softcat PlcAwarded supplierGB-PPON: PZRT-9169-TVMT Solar House, Fieldhouse Lane, Marlow, South East, SL7 1LWContact email

Official documents & specifications (16)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

Show 2 more documents

Notices published for this procedure

  • Contract details notice contractContract details noticeUK7Contract details notice on Find a Tender
  • Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender
  • Preliminary market engagement notice planningPreliminary market engagement noticeUK2Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender