The requirement is for the provision of a capacity monitoring and analytics capability to support delivery of cyber resilience improvements and regulatory compliance obligations

Procurement Act 2023

Direct award The proposed direct award shall be on the basis of "Single Supplier" under Point 4 of Schedule 5 of PA23. The requirement supports delivery of regulatory cyber resilience obligations within defined regulatory timescales. The structured market assessment and technical evaluation identified Splunk as the solution providing alignment to the project's functional, technical and interoperability requirements. SSE also identified that the proposed capability satisfies the requirements of two regulatory projects, enabling a single technical capability to satisfy both sets of regulatory requirements and avoid the need to implement and support separate technology solutions. Whilst alternative suppliers and technology platforms were considered as part of the market assessment, none were assessed as representing a reasonable alternative, or as being capable of delivering the required capability within the technical, implementation and regulatory constraints associated with this requirement. The options appraisal concluded that the alternative technology platforms assessed would require additional architecture design, systems integration, testing, assurance and implementation activities before the capability could become viable, resulting in intolerable delivery complexity and implementation risks to SSE. The December 2027 Enhanced CAF milestone represents a regulatory compliance requirement. Failure to implement and evidence the required capability by this date would expose SSEN Distribution to increased regulatory and operational risk, including the risk of regulatory enforcement action. The Splunk system is therefore, the only one which can overcome the technical requirements and constraints for the benefit of SSE customers, with an approach that enables immediate mobilisation, supporting delivery of the required capability. Based on the technical assessment, implementation constraints and regulatory delivery need, it is considered that a direct award represents the only viable route, capable of delivering the required capability. Accordingly, it is considered that the conditions relating to a direct award via Reseller Computacenter on the basis of Single Supplier are satisfied, as no reasonable alternative has been identified in this paper that is capable of delivering the required capability within the applicable technical, implementation and regulatory constraints.

Utilities