Agenda item

(a)  Approved the upgrade of the council’s Microsoft software licencing from tier E3 to tier E5 at an increased approximate annual cost of £230,000 for three years, totalling £690,000.and,

(b)  Delegated authority to the executive director for strategy and improvement, in consultation with the Cabinet member for customer service, resident engagement, digital, data and technology, to approve and sign the contract amendment.

The Lead Member for Customer Service, Resident Engagement, Digital, Data and Technology introduced a report that proposed upgrading the existing Microsoft E3 licence to an E5 licence.

The current E3 software licence covered a range of cyber security services such as antivirus and malware; and productivity tools for staff including Teams, Word, Excel and Outlook.  The proposed upgrade to E5 would allow the Council to access a wider range of services which could deliver improvements to residents and staff.  The cost of the upgrade was approximately £230,000 each year and the costs would be partly offset by not renewing two existing contracts for services which would become available through the upgraded E5 licence.

In response to a number of questions from Lead Members about whether the Council was achieving best value through the proposal it was confirmed that it was a subscription based contract which adjusted to the staffing levels of the Council.  The ICT team had worked closely with procurement officers to secure the best deal for the Council.  The Lead Member for finance confirmed his agreement to the recommendations, but asked for a separate meeting with ICT officers to discuss the upgrade in more detail.

The Cabinet noted that the Chair of the Corporate Improvement Scrutiny Committee had agreed the request to grant a call-in waiver to enable the decision to be implemented urgently and avoid the higher renewal costs after March 2024.  After due consideration the Cabinet agreed the recommendations and that they could be implemented urgently.

Resolved –

(a)  That the upgrade of the council’s Microsoft software licencing from tier E3 to tier E5 at an increased approximate annual cost of £230,000 for three years, totalling £690,000 be approved; and

(b)  That delegated authority be given to the executive director for strategy and improvement, in consultation with the Cabinet member for customer service, resident engagement, digital, data and technology, to approve and sign the contract amendment.