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planningFind a Tender · planning Update

VPN Provision

Buyer: Ofsted →

BuyerOfsted
Statusplanning
DeadlineNot published
Value£408,333
Published5 Feb 2026

What is being bought

The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is issuing this notice to notify the market to that we are engaging with suppliers on the Technology Services 4 (RM6190) to help shape a pending tender process for the provision of a fully managed VPN service. The current contract that Ofsted has for providing this service is due to end in October 2026 and Ofsted are looking to start the process of procuring a new contract now. Ofsted intends to appoint a supplier to deliver a fully managed VPN service that provides secure, encrypted network connectivity across the organisation. The appointed supplier will be responsible for the end‑to‑end design, implementation, operation, monitoring, and support of the VPN service. This approach will remove the requirement for in‑house management and ensure that the service is proactively maintained and supported by a specialist provider. Ofsted is therefore looking at running a procurement exercise, starting as soon as is practicable in 2026, for a supplier to provide this service. Our chosen route to market will be via CCS Framework Technology Services 4 (RM6190) -Lot 4a Infrastructure Management (lower value and complexity) and engagement is currently limited to suppliers on this Framework.

Delivery location

UKC, GB · UKD, GB · UKE, GB · UKF, GB · UKG, GB · UKH, GB · UKI, GB · UKJ, GB · UKK, GB

Categories

IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support 72000000

Lot details

Lot 1

No lot description published.

Statusplanning
Contract periodFrom 1 Jun 2026 to 31 May 2029
SME suitabilitySuitable for SMEs

What is included

ItemCategoryQuantity
1IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and supportNot published

Comparable-procurement analytics

Benchmarked against retained Find a Tender procedures with CPV division 72. The category anchor is IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support (72000000); 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 7210,5392 median · 15.4 average (4,162 of 10,539 with a bid count)2 average (5,054 of 10,539 with named award suppliers)Not published
Same buyer1Not publishedNot publishedNot published
Delivery region: UKC4151 median · 12.9 average (181 of 415 with a bid count)2.6 average (200 of 415 with named award suppliers)Not published
Similar published value (0.5×–2×)6504 median · 6 average (10 of 650 with a bid count)1 average (10 of 650 with named award suppliers)Not 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
Ofsted issued an Expression of Interest to RM6190 Framework suppliers on 20th January 2026, with a deadline of 27th January 2026. Ofsted will now undertake some pre-market engagement sessions with suppliers who responded to the EOI. Ofsted do not guarantee that this exercise will result in a procurement exercise.engagementNot publishedmet

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-061223
Latest release ID010279-2026
Latest release timestampThu Feb 05 2026 09:54:10 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£408,333
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
5 Feb 2026planningUpdate010279-2026
29 Jan 2026planning008083-2026

All source data

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

Complete current OCDS release JSON
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  "id": "010279-2026",
  "tag": [
    "planningUpdate"
  ],
  "date": "2026-02-05T09:54:10Z",
  "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-061223",
  "buyer": {
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        }
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    ],
    "items": [
      {
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        "deliveryAddresses": [
          {
            "region": "UKC",
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            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          },
          {
            "region": "UKD",
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          },
          {
            "region": "UKE",
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            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          },
          {
            "region": "UKF",
            "country": "GB",
            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          },
          {
            "region": "UKG",
            "country": "GB",
            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          },
          {
            "region": "UKH",
            "country": "GB",
            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          },
          {
            "region": "UKI",
            "country": "GB",
            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          },
          {
            "region": "UKJ",
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          },
          {
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      }
    ],
    "title": "VPN Provision",
    "value": {
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      "currency": "GBP",
      "amountGross": 490000
    },
    "status": "planning",
    "amendments": [
      {
        "id": "010279-2026",
        "description": "Update - This procurement will now be run via Lot 4a Infrastructure Management (lower value and complexity) due to the overall contract value falling under the £3 Million threshold required for Lot 4"
      }
    ],
    "legalBasis": {
      "id": "2023/54",
      "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents",
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    },
    "description": "The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is issuing this notice to notify the market to that we are engaging with suppliers on the Technology Services 4 (RM6190) to help shape a pending tender process for the provision of a fully managed VPN service.\nThe current contract that Ofsted has for providing this service is due to end in October 2026 and Ofsted are looking to start the process of procuring a new contract now.\nOfsted intends to appoint a supplier to deliver a fully managed VPN service that provides secure, encrypted network connectivity across the organisation. The appointed supplier will be responsible for the end‑to‑end design, implementation, operation, monitoring, and support of the VPN service. This approach will remove the requirement for in‑house management and ensure that the service is proactively maintained and supported by a specialist provider.\nOfsted is therefore looking at running a procurement exercise, starting as soon as is practicable in 2026, for a supplier to provide this service.\nOur chosen route to market will be via CCS Framework Technology Services 4 (RM6190) -Lot 4a Infrastructure Management (lower value and complexity) and engagement is currently limited to suppliers on this Framework.",
    "aboveThreshold": true,
    "mainProcurementCategory": "services"
  },
  "parties": [
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      "id": "GB-PPON-PLXD-3382-NDQL",
      "name": "Ofsted",
      "roles": [
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      "address": {
        "region": "UKD33",
        "country": "GB",
        "locality": "Manchester",
        "postalCode": "M1 2WD",
        "countryName": "United Kingdom",
        "streetAddress": "Piccadilly Gate, Store Street"
      },
      "details": {
        "classifications": [
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      "contactPoint": {
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    }
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "planning": {
    "documents": [
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        "id": "010279-2026",
        "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/010279-2026",
        "format": "text/html",
        "noticeType": "UK2",
        "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
        "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
        "datePublished": "2026-02-05T09:54:10Z"
      }
    ],
    "milestones": [
      {
        "id": "engagement",
        "type": "engagement",
        "status": "met",
        "dateMet": "2026-01-27T00:00:00Z",
        "description": "Ofsted issued an Expression of Interest to RM6190 Framework suppliers on 20th January 2026, with a deadline of 27th January 2026. Ofsted will now undertake some pre-market engagement sessions with suppliers who responded to the EOI.\nOfsted do not guarantee that this exercise will result in a procurement exercise."
      }
    ]
  },
  "initiationType": "tender"
}
Complete JSON history (2 releases)
5 Feb 2026 · 010279-2026 · planningUpdate
{
  "id": "010279-2026",
  "tag": [
    "planningUpdate"
  ],
  "date": "2026-02-05T09:54:10Z",
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        },
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          "endDate": "2029-05-31T23:59:59+01:00",
          "startDate": "2026-06-01T00:00:00+01:00",
          "maxExtentDate": "2030-05-31T23:59:59+01:00"
        }
      }
    ],
    "items": [
      {
        "id": "1",
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            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          },
          {
            "region": "UKD",
            "country": "GB",
            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          },
          {
            "region": "UKE",
            "country": "GB",
            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          },
          {
            "region": "UKF",
            "country": "GB",
            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          },
          {
            "region": "UKG",
            "country": "GB",
            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          },
          {
            "region": "UKH",
            "country": "GB",
            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          },
          {
            "region": "UKI",
            "country": "GB",
            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          },
          {
            "region": "UKJ",
            "country": "GB",
            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          },
          {
            "region": "UKK",
            "country": "GB",
            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          }
        ],
        "additionalClassifications": [
          {
            "id": "72000000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "title": "VPN Provision",
    "value": {
      "amount": 408333,
      "currency": "GBP",
      "amountGross": 490000
    },
    "status": "planning",
    "amendments": [
      {
        "id": "010279-2026",
        "description": "Update - This procurement will now be run via Lot 4a Infrastructure Management (lower value and complexity) due to the overall contract value falling under the £3 Million threshold required for Lot 4"
      }
    ],
    "legalBasis": {
      "id": "2023/54",
      "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents",
      "scheme": "UKPGA"
    },
    "description": "The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is issuing this notice to notify the market to that we are engaging with suppliers on the Technology Services 4 (RM6190) to help shape a pending tender process for the provision of a fully managed VPN service.\nThe current contract that Ofsted has for providing this service is due to end in October 2026 and Ofsted are looking to start the process of procuring a new contract now.\nOfsted intends to appoint a supplier to deliver a fully managed VPN service that provides secure, encrypted network connectivity across the organisation. The appointed supplier will be responsible for the end‑to‑end design, implementation, operation, monitoring, and support of the VPN service. This approach will remove the requirement for in‑house management and ensure that the service is proactively maintained and supported by a specialist provider.\nOfsted is therefore looking at running a procurement exercise, starting as soon as is practicable in 2026, for a supplier to provide this service.\nOur chosen route to market will be via CCS Framework Technology Services 4 (RM6190) -Lot 4a Infrastructure Management (lower value and complexity) and engagement is currently limited to suppliers on this Framework.",
    "aboveThreshold": true,
    "mainProcurementCategory": "services"
  },
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        "country": "GB",
        "locality": "Manchester",
        "postalCode": "M1 2WD",
        "countryName": "United Kingdom",
        "streetAddress": "Piccadilly Gate, Store Street"
      },
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      "contactPoint": {
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      }
    }
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "planning": {
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        "id": "010279-2026",
        "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/010279-2026",
        "format": "text/html",
        "noticeType": "UK2",
        "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
        "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
        "datePublished": "2026-02-05T09:54:10Z"
      }
    ],
    "milestones": [
      {
        "id": "engagement",
        "type": "engagement",
        "status": "met",
        "dateMet": "2026-01-27T00:00:00Z",
        "description": "Ofsted issued an Expression of Interest to RM6190 Framework suppliers on 20th January 2026, with a deadline of 27th January 2026. Ofsted will now undertake some pre-market engagement sessions with suppliers who responded to the EOI.\nOfsted do not guarantee that this exercise will result in a procurement exercise."
      }
    ]
  },
  "initiationType": "tender"
}
29 Jan 2026 · 008083-2026 · planning
{
  "id": "008083-2026",
  "tag": [
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  ],
  "date": "2026-01-29T14:09:22Z",
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          {
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            "country": "GB",
            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          },
          {
            "region": "UKE",
            "country": "GB",
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          },
          {
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          },
          {
            "region": "UKG",
            "country": "GB",
            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          },
          {
            "region": "UKH",
            "country": "GB",
            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          },
          {
            "region": "UKI",
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            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          },
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            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          },
          {
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            "country": "GB",
            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          }
        ],
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          {
            "id": "72000000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "title": "VPN Provision",
    "value": {
      "amount": 408333,
      "currency": "GBP",
      "amountGross": 490000
    },
    "status": "planning",
    "legalBasis": {
      "id": "2023/54",
      "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents",
      "scheme": "UKPGA"
    },
    "description": "The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is issuing this notice to notify the market to that we are engaging with suppliers on the Technology Services 4 (RM6190) to help shape a pending tender process for the provision of a fully managed VPN service.\nThe current contract that Ofsted has for providing this service is due to end in October 2026 and Ofsted are looking to start the process of procuring a new contract now.\nOfsted intends to appoint a supplier to deliver a fully managed VPN service that provides secure, encrypted network connectivity across the organisation. The appointed supplier will be responsible for the end‑to‑end design, implementation, operation, monitoring, and support of the VPN service. This approach will remove the requirement for in‑house management and ensure that the service is proactively maintained and supported by a specialist provider.\nOfsted is therefore looking at running a procurement exercise, starting as soon as is practicable in 2026, for a supplier to provide this service.\nOur chosen route to market will be via CCS Framework Technology Services 4 (RM6190) - Lot 4: Infrastructure Management Services and engagement is currently limited to suppliers on this Framework.",
    "aboveThreshold": true,
    "mainProcurementCategory": "services"
  },
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    {
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        "country": "GB",
        "locality": "Manchester",
        "postalCode": "M1 2WD",
        "countryName": "United Kingdom",
        "streetAddress": "Piccadilly Gate, Store Street"
      },
      "details": {
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            "description": "Public authority - central government"
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        "id": "PLXD-3382-NDQL",
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      },
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      }
    }
  ],
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      {
        "id": "008083-2026",
        "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/008083-2026",
        "format": "text/html",
        "noticeType": "UK2",
        "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
        "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
        "datePublished": "2026-01-29T14:09:22Z"
      }
    ],
    "milestones": [
      {
        "id": "engagement",
        "type": "engagement",
        "status": "met",
        "dateMet": "2026-01-27T00:00:00Z",
        "description": "Ofsted issued an Expression of Interest to RM6190 Framework suppliers on 20th January 2026, with a deadline of 27th January 2026. Ofsted will now undertake some pre-market engagement sessions with suppliers who responded to the EOI.\nOfsted do not guarantee that this exercise will result in a procurement exercise."
      }
    ]
  },
  "initiationType": "tender"
}