Huge £117m IT hardware tender issued for education institutions

Crescent Purchasing Consortium issues tender on behalf of further education institutions, sixth forms, academies and schools

Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC), an organisation owned and run by the further education sector, has issued a £117m tender for IT hardware on behalf of educational institutions.

The consortium counts further education institutions, sixth forms, academies, schools and museums as its members, and it is a requirement of the tender that the selected supplier(s) will extend the terms to all eligible institutions.

The tender is also available for higher education institutions if they join the CPC as a single contract member.

In an Official Journal of the European Union tender notice, CPC said that it intended to put a framework agreement in place with suitable manufacturers and resellers that will offer "additional benefits through collaborative and innovative partnerships with our members".

The framework agreement is for the supply of a wide range of IT equipment and the provision of support services, and these will be able to be purchased continuously and in varying quantities during the four-year contract period.

CPC stated that all of its members rely heavily on having a robust ICT infrastructure and environment, and said that the new equipment will be used for a variety of administrative, research and academic applications.

The tender is split into seven lots; the first is for desktop PC solutions including monitors, keyboards, mice, thin clients, training and support. The second is for laptops, notebooks, netbooks, tablets, PDAs and other mobile internet devices. Lot 3 is for peripherals including printers, monitors, and other related products, and Lot 4 is for IT hardware that is compatible with Apple operating systems. The final three lots incorporate installation and maintenance services, IT disposal and recycling, and IT managed services.

Tenders may be submitted for one or more lots. The CPC said that it reserves the right during the period of the agreement to make additions to or subtractions from the list of participating institutions and consortia.