Renewal of Northern Gas Networks' Microsoft Enterprise Agreement (EA) under the CK Hutchison Group Enterprise Agreement arrangement. The contract includes the provision of Microsoft enterprise software licences and cloud services, including Microsoft 365 E5 and F3 subscriptions, Microsoft Copilot licences, security and compliance capabilities, Azure-related services, enhanced storage, and associated software support and licence management services. The agreement will be supplied through SoftwareOne Hong Kong as the authorised reseller under the CK Hutchison Group Enterprise Agreement and will provide continuity of critical productivity, collaboration, security, identity management and cloud-based services across Northern Gas Networks' operational and corporate environments. Contract term: 5 years. Estimated contract value: £3,783,541.40.

Procurement Act 2023

Direct award Northern Gas Networks is a participant in the CK Hutchison Group Microsoft Enterprise Agreement. Under the terms of that arrangement, SoftwareOne Hong Kong Limited is the sole authorised reseller for Microsoft licensing and associated cloud services available to participating group entities. Northern Gas Networks is required to procure the relevant Microsoft products and services through this mandated route and is unable to appoint an alternative supplier. Accordingly, competition is absent because only SoftwareOne Hong Kong Limited has the contractual authority and reseller rights necessary to provide the required licences and services under the Group Enterprise Agreement. The direct award is therefore justified on the basis that only one supplier is capable of supplying the requirement due to exclusive rights and technical reasons.

Utilities