Public procurement notice: Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Published: 2017-12-13
Buyer: LOS-programmet i Forsvaret
Country: NO
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Contract award without prior publication
CPV classification: 72267000: Software maintenance and repair services
Estimated value: 2650000 NOK

Technical requirements: The procurement concerns an extension of a maintenance contract (support) for the Norwegian Defence´s PowerCenter software installation. PowerCenter is a transport tool that is used to extract information from databases, edit the fields and add to other databases. The tool has been in use in the Norwegian Defence for a number of years and maintenance for it was last procured in 2013 via an open tender contest, in which the only tender was from the existing supplier (Affecto AS). The Norwegian Defence deems that the terms of the Regulations dated 12 August 2016 no. 974 on public procurements (the Public Procurement Regulations - FOA) § 13-4, litra b, number 3, cf. the Act dated 12 May 1961 no. 2 on copyright to intellectual property etc. (the Copyright Act – åvl) § 2, on a procurement without a competition are fulfilled.
The procurement is for an extension of a contract for software maintenance (support) for the Norwegian Defence´s PowerCenter portfolio. The maintenance involves continual making and distributing error corrections and upgrades in order to keep the software in a secure and operational good condition.
PowerCenter is a tool that is used to extract information from databases, edit the fields and add it to other databases. The tool has been in use in the Norwegian Defence for a number of years and the maintenance contract for it was last announced in 2013 via an open tender contest, in which the only tender was from the existing supplier (Affecto AS). Informatica is the rightful owner of the software and has the monopoly to produce copies of the software, including error fixes and upgrades. Informatica has said that Affecto is the sole distributor of the software and the maintenance contract for it in Norway. Affecto is therefore deemed to have a derived monopoly to the distribution of the software and maintenance services.
The regulations dated 12 August 2016 no. 974 on public procurements (the public procurement regulations – FOA) § 13-4, litra b, number 3 states that the contracting authority can make a procurement without a competition if the procurement is for services that only a specific supplier can provide as the supplier has a monopoly.
PowerCenter is adapted to and integrated into the Norwegian Defence´s architecture. It would be very demanding to replace the transport software and adapt all the systems that use the functionality in PowerCenter. The costs of a replacement, including the procurement of a new licence, adaptations, testing and training would exceed the contract sum for the maintenance contract many times.
The Norwegian Defence is now aware of other reasonable alternatives, cf. the FOA § 13-4, litra b, last sentence, which states that the above mentioned legal basis can only be used 'when there are no reasonable alternatives and the lack of competition is not due to the contracting authority adopting the procurement documents to a specific supplier'. The terms for entering into a new maintenance contract without a competition are therefore deemed to be fulfilled.
The regulations dated 12 August 2016 no. 974 on public procurements (the public procurement regulations – FOA) § 13-4, litra b, number 3 states that the contracting authority can make a procurement without a competition if the procurement is for services that only a specific supplier can provide as the supplier has a monopoly.
PowerCenter is adapted to and integrated into the Norwegian Defence´s architecture. It would be very demanding to replace the transport software and adapt all the systems that use the functionality in PowerCenter. The costs of a replacement, including the procurement of a new licence, adaptations, testing and training would exceed the contract sum for the maintenance contract many times. The Norwegian Defence is now aware of other reasonable alternatives, cf. the FOA § 13-4, litra b, last sentence, which states that the above mentioned legal basis can only be used 'when there are no reasonable alternatives and the lack of competition is not due to the contracting authority adopting the procurement documents to a specific supplier'. The terms for entering into a new maintenance contract without a competition are therefore deemed to be fulfilled.


Winner: Affecto Norway AS
Award value: 2650000