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Simple Procurement Instructions

G-Cloud Simple Procurement Instructions May 2012

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Simple Procurement Instructions

Welcome to G-Clouds second procurement phase: Gii This guide gives you all the information you need to become part of the GCloud supplier community or help you if you already are on the first G-Cloud framework and want to be on the second one: Gii. G-Cloud is a public sector wide change programme that impacts the way ICT services are consumed by the public sector and how we work with suppliers. In short, the aim of G-Cloud is to make it easier for the public sector to access and use utility-based ICT services and easier for suppliers to work with us. There are a number of parts to G-Cloud, procurement is only one. We also have the CloudStore an online market place of services on the G-Cloud framework(s), and a team working with the public services in moving to commodity ICT. G-Cloud has been running for some time and we already have one live supplier framework. You can find out more about G-Cloud from here: Website: http://gcloud.civilservice.gov.uk/ CloudStore: http://gcloud.civilservice.gov.uk/cloudstore/ Twitter: @G_Cloud_UK

G-Clouds focus is commodity based ICT services and those professional services that support and / or enhance them. We are interested in four areas of service (in procurement language these are called Lots): Lot 1 - Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Lot 2 - Platform as a Service (PaaS) Lot 3 - Software as a Service (SaaS) Lot 4 - Specialist Cloud Services

Within these broad areas we have identified particular services we are looking for and we have broad categories in case you have a cloud service we havent thought of. If you provide one or more of these services, read on. What if Im already on the G-Cloud Framework? All suppliers new and existing will need to register with us to take part and tender for the Gii procurement (all the details on how to do this can be found below). If you simply want to tell us that you wish to re-tender exactly what youve already got on G-Cloud, weve made it as simple as we can. All suppliers new and existing will need to complete the selection and award elements of the tender. If you simply want your existing G-Cloud services to be part of Gii we can re-use your original submission but only if the services are EXACTLY the same, including the terms and conditions.

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So there are three options for existing G-Cloud suppliers 1. Supplier does not wish to add new services or change T&Cs and would like their previous Award submission to be re-used. Action: Complete the selection and award section on the GPS portal and submit the separate award sheet completing the re-use section only. 2. Supplier wishes to add new services or change their T&Cs. Action: Complete the selection and award sections on the GPS portal and submit a fully populated award sheet for ALL services new and old. 3. Supplier does not wish to stay on G-Cloud. Action: Do nothing and services will expire and be removed from the catalogue 19th Aug 2012. How the overall process works 1. Suppliers provide government with information about their services features, prices, standard agreements etc. Youve got till 20th June 2012 to ask us any questions on the framework agreement and until 27th June for questions on the tender, and you have until 15:00 on 11th July 2012 to get your response in. Please do not leave it until the last minute to submit your response in case any network congestion causes you delays. 2. Government then evaluates and selects suppliers based on the responses provided and sets up whats called a framework agreement with the successful companies; well do this by 24th August 2012. 3. Government puts this information on the CloudStore and conducts an assurance / accreditation process on the suppliers that were successful. 4. Government buyers use the CloudStore to find a short list of suppliers that meet their needs, then select the appropriate one and create whats called a call-off contract. The process we are following is what is known as the Open Procedure to establish a multi-supplier framework. That is, you are tendering to supply the public sector with services should you be successful you will be part of a framework agreement allowing public bodies to buy services from you should you meet their needs and your service(s) will go on the CloudStore. If you are new to government procurement you should read this guide as it outlines what we are doing to enable you to be a part of the G-Cloud supplier community. If you are already a government supplier or even on the current G-Cloud framework you should still read this guide because G-Cloud Gii is different, weve made things easier. Whether new or existing all suppliers must have our formal procurement documents reviewed by a suitably qualified professional, as while weve made the G-Cloud processes as simple as possible ultimately G-Cloud is based
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on a formal contractual relationship been suppliers and the public sector. If your organisation is an experienced government supplier and are familiar with the e-Sourcing Suite you can go directly to the Suite to register your interest and download the detailed instructions and ITT: https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk Government Procurement As a supplier you are probably familiar with working with private companies who are free to buy from whomever they want, however they want. Government is a little different in that the way we purchase is defined by law; access the following link to read The Public Contracts Regulations 2006. The point of this law is to ensure everyone in the market has a fair chance and we get the most economic solutions. This might sound hugely bureaucratic and time consuming for you but with G-Cloud we have automated as much of the process as possible and made it quick and simple. However, there is some information that you must read and understand before completing the tender process and before you form an agreement with us all this information can be found here and in greater detail on the G PS eSourcing Suite. The detailed information tells you: What exactly we want to buy What responsibilities we both have How to complete the process

The key documents are: Terms of Participation the legal document that defines the terms and conditions of the procurement process. Invitation To Tender (ITT) the document that defines this process in legal terms, and which contains: o Framework Agreement the agreement that will govern the relationship between you and the public sector should you be successful. o Call-off contract the contract, under the framework agreement that defines the terms for each service that we buy from you, under which your terms and conditions sit. Selection Questionnaire the document where you tell us about your organisation and your services (now an online form). Award Questionnaire the document where you tell us about the details of your services (now a new and improved spread sheet)

If you have any questions please consult the FAQs you can ask us questions, but to ensure that we are fair to everyone thats part of this process and so that everyone can see they are being treated equally, theres a formal
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process for this its not complicated though its all done via our e-Sourcing Suite (see below for an overview of the process). To be on the G-Cloud supplier framework you need to successfully complete the tender process. That is, you provide us with information about your company and services and we assess that against a set of criteria, those suppliers that meet the criteria are awarded a framework agreement and their services will be available for the public sector to choose from should they meet a particular set of requirements.

What we want buy

The government can only buy what it says its going to on the OJEU. We also state the estimated value of services we expect to order during the duration of the framework. You can only be part of the framework if you supply one or more of the services listed in the OJEU and meet our pre-defined criteria then to actually supply a service to us you must be selected from the framework by a particular public sector customer. We have split our requirements into four groups, these are formally called Lots, and this is what they are: Lot 1: Infrastructure as a Service Lot 2: Platform as a Service Lot 3: Software as a Service Lot 4: Specialist Cloud Services

We estimate that the total value of services we are going to buy under this Framework will be up to 100 million. Suppliers providing any or all of these services are invited to submit a tender as per the OJEU contract notice, the process for how to do that is explained in the ITT and below.

Tender Process
The tender process is the set of steps through which you provide us with information and we assess it. There are opportunities to ask us questions but there is a formal process we both have to follow. Following the submission of your tender we assess the information provided, against the published criteria, and then award framework contracts to the successful suppliers. We need to gather the same basic information from all suppliers in the same way so that we can fairly judge suppliers against the criteria we ve established for the framework. Weve improved the process from last time putting more of it on -online, but to
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use this youve got to send us an expression of interest email so we can give you access to relevant part of the procurement system, this is what you do: 1/ Make sure you are registered on the e-Sourcing Portal If you are not registered, go here: https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk Youll need your DUNS number (via Dun and Bradstreet) If you need further details on how to register, go here: http://gps.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/i-am-supplier/respond-tender

2/ Tell us you are interested in tendering for G-Cloud Send an email to: ExpressionOfInterest@gps.gsi.gov.uk email should include: o Name of tender and RM Reference (G-Cloud ii RM1557) o Details of the person registered on the e-Sourcing Suite on behalf of your organisation Name email contact number 3/ Download, Complete and Upload Tender documents Invitation to tender (full version) Selection Questionnaire Award Questionnaire Terms of participation Framework schedules and templates We also need a service definition that has to contain certain information its likely that this is your existing product/service information and descriptions etc. Timetable This is the timetable for the process:

Date 23.5.12 23.05.12 23.05.12 23.05.12 20.06.12 12:00

Event Publication of the OJEU Contract Notice Release of the ITT to Potential Providers Clarification period starts e-Sourcing Portal opens Period for clarifications on the Framework Agreement closes (Framework Agreement Clarifications Deadline)

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27.06.12 15:00 27.6.12 15:00 4.7.12 15:00 11.7.12 15:00 1.7.12 1.8.12 13.8.12 24.8.12

Deadline for the publication of responses to Framework Agreement Clarification questions Clarification period closes (Tender Clarifications Deadline) Deadline for the publication of responses to Tender Clarification questions Deadline for submission of T enders to the Authority (Tender Submission Deadline) Intention to award notification unsuccessful Potential Providers. issued to successful and

10 day standstill (in accordance with Regulation 32) Expected Commencement Date for Framework Agreement(s)

Clarification Questions
You can ask us questions about any aspect of the tender process at any time from the publication of the OJEU until defined dates called the framework and tender Clarification deadlines, which are in this case 26th June for framework agreement clarification and 4th July for tender clarification. To be fair to all we cannot enter into a dialogue individually with any given potential provider of services, so what we do is: You send us questions that you have using our e-Sourcing Suite (we can-t accept other methods as we need to record them all in one place). We publish answers to the question, in batches regularly via the e-Sourcing Suite and the G-Cloud website. We will not identify the source of a question. We cannot, by law, negotiate the terms of the framework agreement however you can: inform us of errors, request clarifications, or propose amendments.

There are very specific circumstances when we can answer without making the question or answer public see the ITT for details. Formally speaking you are responsible for monitoring your email for update alerts from the e-Sourcing Suite.

Evaluation Process
After you submit your tender we evaluate it against a set of criteria we have published in the ITT pack. We evaluate all tenders against the same core set of criteria and a set that is specific to the Lot you are applying for e.g. if you are applying for IaaS, we use some IaaS specific criteria.
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The evaluation process is largely based on the information you provide to us some checking with third parties e.g. credit rating, is also conducted. There are a number of reasons why you may not be successful in this tender process. Some key ones are your tender will NOT be successful if: You are not a company You do not supply any of the types of services covered by this OJEU You miss the deadline Your submission is not complete You organisation is not of good financial standing (details of how this is determined are contained in the ITT) You do not meet our mandatory conditions for each of types of service/lots we are looking for You do not agree to the terms of the framework agreement

Assurance / Accreditation Process

Those suppliers that successfully get on the framework agreement will go through a second round of assurance / accreditation some of this applies to an organisation some applies to each of their services, this is to validate the information you have provided to us. In short we will check the following areas: Functional, non-functional and service management Commercial Security accreditation

These are not qualitative checks i.e. we are not going to ask whether it is someones view whether you are a good provider of IaaS services, rather we will simply validate some important aspects e.g. if you say you are ISO27001 certified, we will validate that. The CloudStore Information about all G-Cloud services will be held online in the CloudStore, to see the services on the current G-Cloud framework see here: http://gcloud.civilservice.gov.uk/cloudstore/

G-Cloud FAQ
Whats G-Cloud? G-Cloud is the UK governments programme to adopt cloud-based services. G- Cloud covers the processes of buying, managing and using cloud services. G-Cloud represents a change in the way that government works with suppliers and works internally.
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What are the aims of G-Cloud? Common commodity solutions a range of the best industry IT services and solutions available off the shelf so government, its agencies and related bodies can use what it needs when it needs it and not create duplicate services that cannot be shared; Flexibility and Freedom the ability, if required, for departments and organisations to change service provider easily without lengthy procurement and implementation cycles, no lock-ins to long contracts and the freedom to quickly adopt better value and more current solutions; Ready and Easy to Use complete solutions that are already assured for security, performance and service management. Ready access to hybrid cloud solutions that allow the cost efficiencies of the public cloud to be used alongside more secure / dedicated private cloud solutions based on a consolidated data centre and service estate; Low cost Services that are paid for on a usage basis, driven by strong competition on price and quality. Transparent costs along with quality and scope of service metrics for simpler comparison and control; and Competitive Marketplace a range of service providers constantly improving the quality and value of the solutions they offer, from small SME organisations providing niche products to large scale hosting and computer server capacity. Why should I take part? G-Cloud will establish a mechanism for government to purchase cloud services. While government has existing service contracts and supplier frameworks we feel that there has been such a significant change in the market that we need something that is fit for this purpose. What about existing frameworks? The government has a number of framework agreements with a range of suppliers, we will use the best framework on case-by-case basis. Even if you are on an existing framework we encourage you to tender for this one if you supply Cloud services. We have one live G-Cloud framework, its duration was 6 months, this framework will replace it. What about the PSN Services Framework is that not asking for the same things? This framework runs in parallel with the PSN Services framework, and the overlap across the frameworks is recognised. The PSN (Public Services Network) provides strategic convergence for GSi, PNN, N3 and other public
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sector networks. It would be possible to buy cloud services from the PSN framework, and equally, PSN services from this framework. Note, however, that any services that connect to the PSN will be subject to PSN governance and required to undergo PSN Compliance Certification. How long will it take? The procurement process takes about 3 months. Why so long? We are using whats called the Open Procedure (see OJEU FAQ) the minimum time for this is set down in law. The time period means that you have an opportunity to respond and ask clarification questions if needs be. Am I guaranteed work? No. This part of the process sets up a legal mechanism by which the government can set up individual contract with you should you be selected against a particular set of needs you can find details of how we will do this here. What are the deadlines? The key date is 15:00 GMT 11th July 2012 when you must have your response in. I cant do this now, what happens if I miss it? We will be running regular procurements in the future, we cant confirm yet exactly when these will be. OJEU & ITT FAQ Whats an OJEU? OJEU stands for Official Journal European Union. The term OJEU is used as short hand for the OJEU Contract Notice, which is the official way that a government notifies the market that it wants to buy something. Where can I find the G-Cloud OJEU? The OJEU Contract Notice is here: http://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:165301-2012:TEXT:EN:HTML When was the OJEU issued? The G-Cloud OJEU was issued on the 23 May 2012 What Procurement Process are you following?
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We are following the Open Procedure. Whats an Open Procedure? The European Directives (starting with Council Directive 1999/C 379/08 (31st December 1999)) says that there are only certain methods that a government can use to buy things; these have been made law in the UK through the Public Contracts Regulations 2006. The options open to us are: Open Restricted Competitive Dialogue

Why have you used Open? The open process gives the greatest number of suppliers an opportunity to be part of G-Cloud. Whats a Framework Agreement? A framework agreement is a type of contract defined in European procurement law that sets out terms that will apply should we agree a contract (know as a Call-off contract) with you. That is, if you tender is successful and you agree to the terms of the G-Cloud framework agreement then we have agreed the basic terms on which we may do business. Whats a Call-off contract? A call-off contract is the agreement we have for the supply of specific services to a public service customer. Being awarded all call-off contract means we are actually buying services from you and it defines the details of them the calloff contract might say how many for how long etc. How is a Call-Off contract awarded? Public bodies that have a requirement will use the CloudStore to find what GCloud Services are available. They will then match their requirements against the service offerings on the CloudStore and find the best fit in terms of price, function and value for money How many contracts are there? For any given customer there will be three key documents that form the contract, these will be, in order of legal precedence: Framework Agreement
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o Call-Off Contract Your terms and conditions To put it another way, under this process you will have one Framework Agreement with us, within that you may have many Call-Off contracts with individual or groups of public bodies, and these in turn are likely to reference your standard terms and conditions. What if Im not based on the UK or the EU? Thats fine. Our assessment is not based on where you are except for security aspects where we do need to know more details about things like data centres and security clearance of staff. However, to be part of G-Cloud you need to agree to the terms of the framework agreement and call-off contract which are under English Law. In the formal documentation I see terms such as Authority what do these mean? At times we use terms such as Authority as these are the words used in the EU Procurement Directives, UK law and our contracts - they have specific legal meanings that you should be aware of, because they are legally important terms they are defined in the contracts and other legal documents.

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