Official UK procurement notice
Provision of Licencing, Maintenance and Support for the SUN Accounting software package and INFOR Query & Analysis software to the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (2026–2028)
Authority: Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (the Assembly) requires the continued provision of licencing, maintenance and support for the SUN Accounting software package and INFOR Query & Analysis software over a two year period to accommodate replacement systems. These two linked software packages require a support and maintenance service with a helpdesk facility during office hours to provide advice and assistance for all queries relating to the operation of the SUN accounting software and INFOR Query and Analysis reporting tool.
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedProcedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Direct award
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 20 Apr 2026, 15:02 BST
- Last source update
- 21 Apr 2026, 10:33 BST
- Authority reference
BR-014-2026- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-035942- Latest notice
- Transparency notice (UK5)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06868cFind a Tender
- Why no open competition
- Single Suppliers Intellectual Property Exclusive Rights; Single Suppliers Technical Reasons
- Published justification
Section 41(6) of the Procurement Act 2023, which permits direct award where a “direct award justification” applies—specifically where only a particular supplier can provide the required goods due to technical or exclusive rights, and no reasonable alternatives exist (Schedule 5 para 6 (a) and (b)).
This justification applies because INFOR (the owner of the software) only permits one reseller per geographic region.
The current geographic reseller for the licensing and support over the next 2 years is CORE. Resellers make their money from the implementation of such systems. Reselling licences and support services has little value to the reseller organisation. Further, to have a reseller familiarise themselves with the Assembly Commission’s system configurations would incur additional monies. This can be expensive, time consuming and would not deliver value for money for the NI Assembly Commission.
Notice history
3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 20 Apr 2026- Transparency notice published20 Apr 2026, 15:02 BSTUK5
- Transparency notice published21 Apr 2026, 10:33 BSTUK5
- Contract signature expected30 Apr 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| CORE Financial Systems LimitedSME1 May 2026 – 31 Mar 2028 | £86,629 | — | Standstill |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- CORE Financial Systems LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender