Whitehall’s procurement agency has issued an initial planning notice, and will soon connect with potential suppliers, ahead of awarding a new iteration of the Technology Products and Associated Services deal
The government is shortly to begin engaging with prospective providers for a new £24bn mega-framework covering a comprehensive range of off-the-shelf tech hardware, software and services.
The Crown Commercial Service has this week published a planning notice providing outline information on the upcoming third iteration of the Technology Products and Associated Services framework (TePAS 3).
As with its two predecessors, the hardware sections of this deal will cover a wide array of devices and computing infrastructure, as well as printers, scanners, assistive technology and “specialised military grade tactical communication and information systems”.
“Hardware can be purchased in combination, outright, delivered as a service, leased, or as a utility model but will all be considered physical devices,” the notice adds. “The hardware offering will align to carbon net zero, sustainability and circular IT objectives with the framework providing the ability to provide new or refurbished devices.”
The software elements of the framework, meanwhile, will cover proprietary and open-source tools that “can be purchased full box or under subscription”.
The services covered by the arrangement are liable to include the likes of “design, implementation, end user support, continuation of associated services, support and maintenance, build, imaging, warranty, service desk, installation, project management, training, leasing, security management, asset management, network infrastructure management, device-as-a-service, recycling, disposal, [and] data cleansing”, according to the planning document.
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The notice adds that the anticipated value of the framework over a four-year term will be £24bn – almost £10bn higher than the incumbent TePAS 2 deal.
The precise details and scope of the framework will be confirmed once CCS has completed an ongoing market-engagement exercise. Prospective suppliers interested in taking part in this process are invited to register their interest to do so by the end of this month.
The government procurement body will then host an initial event – taking place at the London offices of techUK on 20 October – where officials will “discuss the existing agreement and gather supplier feedback to help us build the future agreement”.
Following this, CCS “will also be conducting customer webinars, [for which] dates will be confirmed shortly”.
A tender notice inviting bids for a place on the framework is not expected until early 2027 – with the plan being for TePAS 3 to take effect around the end of July 2027, about two months before the expiry of the framework’s second iteration.
That deal, which has been in place since October 2023, features a total of 141 suppliers across eight lots, respectively covering: combined hardware, software and associated services; hardware; software; information-assured technology; health and social care technology; education technology; sustainability and circular IT; and, finally, an online ‘Technology Catalogue’ for simple or low-value purchases.
