Provision of Licensing, Maintenance and Support for the SUN Accounting software package and INFOR Query & Analysis software to the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (2026-2028)

The Northern Ireland Assembly Commission 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. 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.