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The Natural History Museum ("NHM") intends to initiate a procurement exercise in 2026 for a modern, cloud-aligned Bulk Data Storage and Lifecycle Management Solution to deliver scalable capacity that meets growing research demand and aligns with the Museum's digital transformation strategy. The solution is anticipated to be the primary bulk storage infrastructure supporting over 300 scientists across multiple research domains including CT scanning, bioinformatics, molecular biology, and imaging analysis. We envisage (based on the museums current cloud strategy) , a hybrid architecture with intelligent on-premise caching and cloud-native object storage and archive in AWS, delivered as a fully managed service with multi-tier data lifecycle management and robust access control.
The NHM currently intends to undertake a single procurement utilising an outcome-based functional requirements approach. The procurement will seek a comprehensive managed service encompassing both the storage platform infrastructure and ongoing operational support, with the supplier assuming responsibility for 24/7 monitoring, capacity planning, security patching, backup and disaster recovery, and service delivery under contractual Experience Level Agreements (XLAs). Any supplier would need to be certified to ISO27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus.
This Preliminary Market Engagement Notice relates to the development of the solution as a unified managed service procurement. The NHM is seeking supplier engagement to validate requirements, explore innovative approaches to outcome-based service delivery, and inform commercial models including consumption-based pricing, XLAs and meaningful KPIs, and leased equipment options.
This notice is solely for the purpose of engaging the market to gather information. It does not constitute a call for competition or form part of a competitive process. Participation in this engagement will not confer any advantage or disadvantage in any future procurement, nor will it bind the NHM to proceed with any specific course or action.
For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at:
https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-South-Kensington:-Data-services./YBHX95RYZ2
To respond to this opportunity, please click here:
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2). The buyer wants to talk to suppliers before designing the procurement. Taking part is how to shape it.
Bids are submitted through the buyer’s own portal, not on this site. Read the full notice on Find a Tender before relying on any date here.
No supplier information available.
This procurement was divided into 1 lots, each awarded separately.
| Lot | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Lot 1 Jul 2026 – Jun 2031 | - | planning |
Changes the buyer published to this notice after it first appeared.
Update to Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Following completion of the preliminary market engagement exercise, the Natural History Museum has reviewed the information received and considered the most appropriate route to market for this requirement.
NHM now intends to progress the requirement through Lot 4a of the CCS Technology Services 4 framework agreement (RM6190) and the framework's competitive selection process, rather than by commencing a standalone competitive tender procedure.
This update does not alter the purpose of this notice, which was published for preliminary market engagement only. The notice does not constitute a call for competition and does not bind NHM to any specific procurement route, timetable or award decision. Any future competition will be conducted in accordance with the rules and terms of the Technology Services 4 framework and will be open only to suppliers appointed to Lot 4a.
Suppliers who participated in the preliminary market engagement are thanked for their input. The information received has helped NHM refine its requirement and route to market strategy.