Public procurement notice: Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Published: 2021-11-26
Buyer: Sykehuspartner HF
Country: NO
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Contract award without prior publication
CPV classification: 72261000: Software support services | 72266000: Software consultancy services | 72268000: Software supply services | 72310000: Data processing services | 72416000: Application service providers
Estimated value: 1500000000 NOK
Award criteria: Lowest price

Technical requirements: Sykehuspartner HF has an Enterprise Agreement (EA) with Microsoft that lasts from 1 December 2018 to 30 November 2021. Sykehuspartner HF operates the computer systems for the health trusts in Helse Sør-Øst, and the EA products are used in all of the health trusts in the health region, as well as in some of the non-profit hospitals with which Helse Sør-Øst has a binding cooperation. Pasientreiser HF is also included in the EA.
Sykehuspartner HF will procure a new main contract with products and services from Microsoft, which will be valid in the period 1 December 2021 until 30 November 2024, as well as a two- year option on this - until 30 November 2026. In addition to Microsoft - as a product and service provider - and Sykehuspartner HF - as a customer, ATEA is also a contract party based on its function as a dealer of Sykehuspartner HF's contracts with Microsoft - see the Doffin notice 2021-337683.
MS Office is a productivity tool from Microsoft that is sued by all employees in Helse Sør-Øst, and it is part of the EA. MS Office includes, amongst other things Word, Excel, Powerpoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, Access, and Skype for Business.
In recent years Microsoft has changed the above Office components from local installation on clients (PCs) - so-called on-premise - to including the use of the components, as well as associated data, in the Microsoft cloud service.
In the coming main contract with Microsoft, most of the Office components are hired as both on-premise and cloud service, or only as a cloud service.
Sykehuspartner HF will procure the Office productivity tools directly from Microsoft based on the following:
- The replacement costs from Microsoft productivity tool to any other supplier are estimated to be very large
- Microsoft can deliver the total functionality of a productivity tool - the Office components - that the contracting authority needs
- When changing the supplier of the productivity tool, there will be a risk - despite measures being taken - of data - including sensitive personal information - being lost
- Security considerations support that the contracting authority procures the entire package of the productivity tool
- Microsoft's cloud service provides storage of documents in Norway - which is necessary as the documents can include sensitive personal information
- As regards a productivity tool and storage of associated information, only Microsoft has the required maturity and completeness in the automation of security measures for cloud services, assessment of security breaches, and reporting the security status.
Sykehuspartner HF believes that the new main contract with Microsoft fulfils the terms for a procurement without a contest in the public procurement regulations, section 13-4 letter b no. 2, and no. 3, cf. section 15-1 (4) letter a, which allows reference to a product from a specific supplier when required based on the procurement's purpose.
Splitting up the Microsoft Office 'package' for productivity tools into different components - in order to assess competition in the market for each individual component - is, according to the contracting authority, not relevant as:


Winner: MICROSOFT IRELAND OPERATIONS LIMITED
Award value: 1500000000