Credit: Peter McDermott/CC BY-SA 2.0

Manchester Metropolitan University is seeking to consolidate its requirements for end-user computing (EUC) into a single long-term deal.

In a newly published contract notice, the institution said that it currently has “various contracts” in place to cover its device estate, which includes desktops and laptops running on both Windows and Apple operating systems. It is seeking to appoint one supplier to provide all its end-user machines. The winning bidder will also be expected to offer “an end-to-end capability including imaging and deployment services… and to support the full EUC lifecycle for the university”, MMU said.

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The deal is expected to last five years and be worth an estimated £36m to the chosen company. Bids are open until 30 September, after which the university expects to perform further evaluation of between three and six potential providers.

The university said: “MMU seek a simplified arrangement with an EUC supplier capable of delivering a predictable and high-quality service across the University to meet the expectations of the end user community.”

Formerly Manchester Polytechnic, MMU has operated in its current guise since 1992. The history of its direct antecedents can be traced back almost 200 years, and it currently has a student population of about 37,000 and employs 4,500 staff. In addition to its sites across Manchester, it has also run a satellite campus in Crewe for the past 27 years which it vacated this summer.