Decision details

To authorise the procurement of Microsoft licenses to permit the use of necessary software and services, delegate authority to make the decision about the exact quantity and type of licences to procure and to enter into the necessary legal agreements to give effect to the procurement of the Microsoft licences.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)          the procurement of Microsoft licences to permit the use by the Council of necessary software and services with an estimated contract value of up to £2m for a period of 3 years be approved;

(2)          the Corporate Director of Resources, following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources, be authorised to agree the contract details including the exact quantity and type of licences to procure; and

(3)          the Corporate Director of Resources, following consultation with the Director of Legal & Governance Services, be authorised to enter into the necessary legal agreements/contract with Microsoft.

Reason for Decisions:  The Council was an established consumer of Microsoft software products for user devices and infrastructure services.  The existing license arrangement (an ‘Enterprise Agreement’) for Microsoft products would come to the end of its three year term in June 2019.  Before licences were procured it was best practice to review the requirement to ensure only those licenses needed were acquired. 

The results of this review were heavily reliant on a recently commissioned project to deploy Windows 10 and Office 365 across the estate.  This project includes an assessment of the optimum licensing model which would feed into the best practice review. 

The approval to proceed was being requested as it would not be possible for the necessary standard approvals to be received before these reviews were completed, prior to the expiry of the current Enterprise Agreement in June 2019.