As its current deal for core software concludes its initial term, and with a maximum of two years to replace it, the health service is seeking to build market intelligence

NHS England is laying the groundwork for a major procurement of Microsoft products by spending almost £50,000 on a “benchmarking” exercise to better understand the landscape and pricing for the vendor’s software tools.

On 13 April, the national body is due to enter into a 20-week contract with IT market research firm IDC. The deal is valued at £46,000.

Between the start of the engagement and its conclusion on 31 August, the company will provide consultants to help NHS England improve its intelligence concerning the market for Microsoft technology.

According to a newly published commercial notice, IDC has been contracted to provide “benchmarking and advisory services relating to software licensing and pricing as part of preparation for a large-scale software licensing procurement”.

Related content

• Public sector spends £2bn on Microsoft licences in first five months of discount MoU
• NHS preps major tech programme to ‘transform patient, public and staff-facing services’
• DHSC signs £10m deal to support new IT landscape for NHS England abolition

The document adds that the deal was “awarded to [the] supplier under G-Cloud 14 following a search and shortlisting exercise”.

In 2023, NHS England signed an initial three-year deal with Microsoft reseller partner Bytes. That contract – which can be extended until 2028 and could be worth up to £930m to the supplier –  was intended to provide the entire NHS workforce of about 1.5 million people with core software tools, including Microsoft 365, which brings together the vendor’s core productivity apps, such as Word, Outlook, Excel, Teams, and PowerPoint.

Also covered by the incumbent deal are Microsoft security tools and, according to documents released by the NHS at the time, over its lifespan it was intended that the contract would “also provide the opportunity to introduce further innovative tools from other suppliers in the future”.

If the current Microsoft agreement with Bytes runs for its full term, the NHS – or its new parent organisation, the Department of Health and Social Care – is likely to begin the procurement process for its replacement within the next 12 months.