Purpose

To approve the contract award for the
Microsoft Subscription Agreement

Decision

Decision
 
That Cabinet
approves the award of the contract for the Microsoft Subscription
Agreement at an amount of £540,000 for a period of 3 years
commencing on 1 April 2026.
 
Reasons for the decision
 
A Microsoft Subscription Agreement was
required to ensure the Council can continue to use Microsoft
applications, which include Windows Server software, Email, Word
and Teams applications. Microsoft Intune and Defender applications
provide device management and cyber security on all corporate
laptops, tablets and mobile devices.
 
Changing to another provider would have been a
massive undertaking meaning all devices would have needed to be
rebuilt, including servers and laptops. Servers would also need
rebuilding, and most software suppliers do not test on
non-Microsoft environments. Days of downtime and much external
support would have been needed to attempt this scale of change.
 
Other options considered and rejected
 
Option 1 - moving to an alternative
environment. This option was discounted for a variety of reasons;
these reasons included:
 

-      
all laptops, servers, and applications would have required full
rebuilds or replacement. Many third-party software solutions used
by the Council were not compatible with or tested on alternative
provider platforms. Migration to a new environment would have
required significant external support, meaning periods of
significant service downtime. The introduction of such a change
would have led to significant operational and security risks.
 

-      
Option 2 - Not renewing the contract. This option was also not
deemed to be viable as these licences provided critical business
systems, including email, teams and file access, meaning officers
and councillors would be unable to perform core duties. This option
would also introduce a significant security risk as devices would
lose security protection, creating unacceptable cyber -security
threat.