Purpose

The following benefits will be accrued.
1)A trusted technology support partner.
For the last eight years, Granicus-Firmstep Ltd has successfully provided and supported the Council's MyTendring customer self-service portal, based on the govService platform. The supplier has developed a detailed understanding of the Council's business requirements and has established a strong track record of reliable service delivery, technical capability and effective partnership working. Relationships between Granicus-Firmstep and the Council remain positive and productive.
Granicus-Firmstep's govService platform is widely adopted across Essex, with eight local authorities utilising the solution to support their CRM and digital forms requirements.
2)Cybersecurity and Information Governance.
Granicus-Firmstep hold government level Security Clearance (SC) at Project, Design and Support Levels. The company also has the following Security Governance and Risk Certifications: ISO:27001, Cyber Essentials as well as security policies and processes that support the NCC Cloud Security Principles and FedRAMP (based on NIST 800-53r4). For accessibility the company conforms to the accessibility standards WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549.
3)Value for Money.
The fees and charges outlined above are comparable with current IT industry market rates. The cost has increased by 12.9% over four years, which is slightly below but broadly in line with cumulative CPI inflation.
4)Partner ethos.
Neighbouring authorities also use the same solution and are willing to work alongside council IT resources to share knowledge/ information, assisting in the development of new skills sets, to improve the current system and implement new processes to benefit both the organisation and the residents of Tendring.
5)Software and application expertise.
Within the public service sector there are a relatively small number of niche information technology service providers and very few that cater for all the above council needs in one complete application.
6)Cost of Change and Business Continuity.
Changing the current solution would cause significant disruption for Tendring residents during the transition to an alternative system, given the Council’s critical reliance on the existing platform. Any change would also require dual running of systems, resulting in increased operational costs.
Furthermore, it is worth noting that implementing and migrating to a new system of this complexity would take approximately 6-12 months to plan and deliver. Such a transition would incur substantial costs, including staff retraining and the additional resources required to support and complete the migration and must be considered within the LGR context set out below.
7)Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) Neither Colchester City Council nor Braintree District Council currently hold contracts with Granicus-Firmstep. However, given the significant cost, resource implications and operational risks associated with procuring and implementing an alternative solution, a two-year contract extension would provide stability and continuity for TDC's critical digital services.
This approach would also allow sufficient time for the proposed local government reorganisation and any future unitary authority arrangements to determine its long-term digital platform strategy and supplier requirements from 2028 onwards.
8)Framework agreement procurement
In accordance with the Council’s procurement rules, this contract renewal will be undertaken via a direct award using the Digital Marketplace Lot 2: Cloud Software GCloud 14 Framework.

Decision

To renew the GovService (MyTendring solution) contract with Granicus-Firmstep Ltd for a period of two years, with contract dates as follows:
Start date: 30 July 2026
End date: 29 July 2028
The procurement is via a direct award using the Digital Marketplace Lot 2: Cloud Software GCloud 14 Framework.
Granicus-Firmstep Ltd provides the Council’s MyTendring self-service platform, a business-critical solution built on the Granicus Government Experience Cloud (GXC), which provides a single platform for digital services, citizen engagement, communications and case management. The platform helps the council improve the resident experience, increase efficiency, reduce costs and make better use of data.
The MyTendring self-service platform enables residents to access a wide range of council services online and supports several key functions, including the Council’s garden waste subscription service, more than 150 electronic forms, and single sign-on (SSO) integration with the Council Tax and NNDR Citizen Access system. The platform is used daily by both residents and council officers to access and manage essential services efficiently and conveniently. By combining digital service delivery, workflow automation, customer engagement and case management capabilities within a single platform, MyTendring supports the Council's digital transformation ambitions while providing a modern, accessible and scalable service for residents.
The value of the contract over the two-year term is as follows:
Year 1 = £63,955
Year 2 = £63,955
Total contract cost £127,910
From the previous contract awarded through G-Cloud 12, the cost has increased by 12.9% over four years, which is slightly below but broadly in line with cumulative CPI inflation.
The existing annual cost of £56,650.02 can be accommodated within current departmental budgets, with an associated cost pressure to be agreed to cover the increase.

Alternative options considered

Neither Colchester City Council nor Braintree District Council currently hold contracts with Granicus-Firmstep. However, given the significant cost, resource implications and operational risks associated with procuring and implementing an alternative solution, a two-year contract extension would provide stability and continuity for TDC's critical digital services.
This approach would also allow sufficient time for the proposed local government reorganisation and any future unitary authority arrangements to determine its long-term digital platform strategy and supplier requirements from 2028 onwards.