Provision of Cognitive RPA, Intelligent Automation & AI Cloud Platform & Virtual Workforce

The procurement contact named on the official notice.

This notice is to inform the market of the Council’s intention to make a direct award to AI‑XON for the provision of Cognitive RPA, Intelligent Automation, AI Cloud Platform services, and Virtual Workforce support.

The award is required to ensure continuity of critical automated processes that underpin statutory and essential frontline Council services.

These processes currently operate on the Blue Prism Cloud Platform, supported and maintained by AI‑XON, who have developed and customised several of the Council’s automation workflows.

Scope of Services The direct award will cover: - Licensing and access to the Blue Prism Cloud RPA platform - Platform support and maintenance - Business‑as‑usual (BAU) process support - Support for the Council’s bespoke automation environment Rationale for Direct Award The Council intends to use this route on the basis of continuity of service and avoidance of disproportionate duplication of costs.

The Blue Prism Cloud licence and associated workflows will only be required for the next 12 months, after which the platform will be decommissioned as part of the Council’s wider automation roadmap.

Procuring an alternative supplier for such a short period would result in: - Significant onboarding and transition costs - Avoidable handover effort and operational disruption - Increased risk to the continuity of statutory processes - Poor value for money due to the short duration of remaining platform use AI‑XON has provided a competitive quotation aligned with the limited remaining requirement and offers a flexible commercial model that ensures the Council pays only for support used.

The proposed commercial terms offer a cost‑effective approach for a time‑limited requirement, ensuring that the Council continues to meet statutory obligations while avoiding unnecessary expenditure.