Purpose

Approval is sought to procure a modern enterprise infrastructure platform to replace SYMCA’s existing NetApp storage environment and associated infrastructure. The new platform will support the Authority’s production and disaster recovery environments and provide a fully supported, resilient and scalable infrastructure solution. The contract will include the supply, installation, configuration, migration, testing, commissioning, documentation, training and support required to deliver a fully operational solution.
SYMCA’s current infrastructure is based on NetApp storage across primary and secondary sites, supporting Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machine workloads, SQL Server workloads, enterprise file storage, critical corporate applications and disaster recovery services.
The existing platform hosts key business systems used across the Authority and is a core component of SYMCA’s digital infrastructure.
The current storage infrastructure is unsupported and therefore presents an increasing operational and service continuity risk.
The current environment includes production and disaster recovery storage, active/passive failover arrangements, Veeam Backup & Replication, Microsoft Active Directory and Entra ID integration.
The replacement is required to ensure continued resilience, security, supportability and future scalability of the Authority’s infrastructure.

Decision

To approve the direct award of a two-year contract to boxxe Ltd via the HTE Framework, with a total net contract value of £599,817.02.

Alternative options considered

Do nothing is not recommended. The existing NetApp storage infrastructure is unsupported and hosts critical corporate systems, Microsoft Hyper-V workloads, SQL Server workloads, enterprise file storage and disaster recovery services. Continuing with the current platform would increase the risk of service failure, extended downtime and disruption to business-critical services. It would also limit the Authority’s ability to obtain manufacturer support, security updates and software updates, potentially increasing cyber security and compliance risks. In addition, the existing environment may become increasingly difficult to maintain, scale and recover in the event of failure, which could weaken business continuity and disaster recovery arrangements.