Decision Maker:

Outcome:

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: Yes

Date of Decision: December 8, 2025

Purpose:

Content: Salford City Council – Record of Decision   I Paul Dennett, City Mayor, accept the recommendation of the Procurement Board and in exercise of the powers contained within the Council Constitution do hereby approve:   ·     to go out to competition for Microsoft licensing (2026).   The Reasons are: Microsoft is the primary provider of office applications, such as Word and Excel, and services, such as computer management, security and email, to the Council. The Microsoft licensing model is subscription based with each user requiring a licence to meet their service requirements. The Microsoft product suite is central to applications and digital solutions used by the Council.   The current subscription usage sees over 3,400 Microsoft 365 E5 licenses assigned to Council users. On the 6th of October 2025 this allowed for 5.4K active users (including guests) to interact with the Council’s Microsoft 365 tenancy, with over 2,000 users using Microsoft Word, over 1,700 using Microsoft Excel and 3.3 million email activities taking place. In this same period over 13 million files had been stored in Microsoft SharePoint and over 4,000 devices were managed by Microsoft Intune.   Microsoft is also the primary public cloud provider (Azure) used by the Council for Digital, Data and Technology infrastructure. The technologies used in Azure are connected to the Microsoft licensing agreements, and discounts obtained in the licensing agreement impact on pricing in Azure.   The Council’s Microsoft licensing agreement comes to an end within 2026 and requires an agreement to be in place by June 2026.   In 2025 an extension to the current Microsoft licensing agreement with the current supplier was agreed by Procurement Board with an understanding that the 2026 licensing agreement would be open to others. Digital, Data and Technology would like to seek approval to begin the tender process. The 2025 1-year extension had a value of £1.2 million for Microsoft licensing, with the Council’s licensing figures adjusted at the time to meet requirements.   The invitation to tender would be under Framework RM6098 Technology Products and Associated Services 2.   Options considered and rejected were:   Assessment of Risk: HIGH The current Microsoft subscription agreements come to an end in 2026, if the tender process does not take place there are two risks. The first is that the Council defaults to standard Microsoft pricing and begins paying for Microsoft licensing / services without any agreed discounts. This is potentially a figure in the millions of pounds.   The second risk is that Council loses access to Microsoft services and products, which are heavily used by Council staff in their day-to-day work, and by Digital, Data and Technology to provide digital services and the infrastructure needed for services to the citizens and businesses of Salford. This would mean potential fines for statutory agreements, non-licence conformity, and reputational risk.   The source of funding is: Revenue budget.   Legal Advice obtained: Yes   Financial Advice obtained: Yes   Procurement Advice obtained: Yes   HR Advice obtained: N/A   Climate Change Implications obtained: Yes   Contact Officer: Gary Pickup, Modern Operations Portfolio Lead Telephone number: 0161 793 3993     Signed:   Paul Dennett       Dated:    8 December 2025.                 City Mayor   FOR DEMOCRATIC SERVICES USE ONLY:   *         This decision was published on 9 December 2025 *         This decision will come in force at 4.00 p.m. on 16 December 2025 unless it is called-in in accordance with the Decision Making Process Rules.