Liverpool John Moores University issues £1m tender for HP hardware

LJMU is seeking bidders for provision of HP ProLiant servers and consultancy services

Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) is seeking bidders for the provision of HP hardware, in a deal that could be worth more than £1m.

The notice, found in the Official Journal of the European Union, states that Information Technology Services (ITS) runs the centralised computer network on behalf of LJMU, and it supports all aspects of university computing for staff and students, including personal file storage, e-mail, the finance system, the students records system and more.

"Servers are split across five sites within a 10-mile radius of Liverpool city centre. The existing server infrastructure is based on HP hardware. There are approximately 200 physical servers (blade and non-blade), 240 virtual servers hosted on both VMWare and HyperV platforms, four HP EVA SANs and two tape libraries currently being utilised," the notice stated. "The servers predominantly run Microsoft operating systems, however, a number of mission critical servers run Oracle on Red Hat Linux."

The tender covers the supply of HP hardware - or equipment with equivalent performance - and the associated consultancy services.

"The hardware supplied will typically be HP ProLiant servers (or equipment with equivalent performance) and ancillary equipment. The consultancy required will typically be based around the existing HP hardware installation and any subsequent upgrades and support. There may also be a requirement for other forms of consultancy for example with Red Hat and VMWare," the tender said.

LJMU is looking to enter into an agreement for four years beginning on 1 July 2013. The four year period is dependent on the performance of the supplier which is to be reviewed on an annual basis, subject to a mutually agreed Service Level Agreement (SLA).

LJMU said there is a "reasonable expectation" that the contract will be upwards of £250,000 per annum, resulting in more than £1m over the contract term.

The contract is not covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA).