Open Cloud for Research and Education (OCRE) - IaaS+ Cloud Tender 2024

GÉANT is a not-for profit organisation, acting as central purchasing body for the benefit of its members and those members. It endeavours to aggregate demand through a European open procurement procedure and aims to put in place Framework Agreements for cloud (IaaS+) services, connecting these to the Pan European Research and Education IT ecosystems and to the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). The purpose of the procurement initiative is to bridge the demand and supply sides for Infrastructure, Platform and Software as a Service (IaaS+). It is being conducted as an Open Procedure in accordance with the Dutch Public Procurement Act (Aanbestedingswet 2012, revised 1 July 2016. The open procedure is divided in 39 lots. Each lot represents 1 Country per which several Framework Agreements can be awarded. The combined value of services over the lifespan of the Frameworks Agreements over all lots is estimated at EUR 1807000000. In some countries a bank guarantee may be required to adhere to local laws. Estimated values per lot vary significantly. See the ITT documents published on the Mercell online tendering platform for more details. Framework Agreements for cloud solutions may be awarded to Bidders who pass the procurement evaluation, resulting in a portfolio of services for the Customers to consume. The Frameworks will provide standardised contract terms and Call off Contracts for use by the Customers. This will remove, or will at least significantly reduce, the local overheads for technical, commercial or legal activities typically required when engaging new Suppliers. As a result, this procurement will significantly reduce the barriers for the Pan European Research and Education participating institutes to consume cloud solutions. GÉANT expects to award Framework Agreements to Bidders (who are selected in accordance with the mechanisms described within this procurement) for a period of up to five (5) years from the commencement date. This term is justified due to the very large investment in time and effort on both supply and procurement side of this aggregated procurement. The EU Regulation 2022/2560 on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market will be applicable for all relevant EU lots.