Templates & Guidelines

This section provides a set of useful templates and guidelines that public organisations can use in their procurement of cloud/ICT services.

• PICSE Guide to Cloud Procurement

1. Make sure you are procuring what you need
2. Identify the most suitable cloud service model for your needs
3. Identify the most suitable cloud deployment model for your needs
4. Make sure to have the appropriate skills
5. Make sure that the cloud procurement is aligned with the existing procurement policies of the organization
6. Choose joint procurement to benefit of economies of scale
7. Choose Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) or Public Procurement of Innovation if you are procuring innovative cloud services
8. Identify clear requirements
9. Consider the need for a pilot phase
10. Carry out pre-procurement market consultation & engagement
11. Select the most suitable procurement procedure
12. Write an effective cloud tender
13. Define objective eligibility criteria for Cloud Service Providers
14. Publish the call for tender & invite suppliers to submit their offers in an effective way
15. Assess cloud offers looking at Terms of Service
16. Put in place appropriate terms of service, performance and billing management/monitoring procedures
17. Assess cloud offers looking at Terms of Service
18. Write up case studies of procurement exercises to share best practice

• PICSE Wizard
• Guidance on Joint Public Procurement,  Section 4.4. of GUIDELINES AND TEMPLATES FOR AGREEMENTS BETWEEN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIONS for Sharing and Re-use. This section describes legal aspects, organisational models and practical aspects for joint procurement, Clémentine VALAYER, TRASYS, March 2015
• Guidelines on procuring re-usable solutions, Leda Bargiotti – PwC EU Services &  Natacha Dewyngaert – PwC EU Services, Reviewed by Szabolcs Szekacs – European Commission & Pieter Breyne – PwC EU Services, February 2015.

Recommendations for promoting re-usable solutions

1. Check which solutions are already available for re-use purposes
  More information:
  - Guide for the procurement of standards-based ICT – Elements of Good Practice SWD (2013)224 final, p.17.
  - Guidelines for Public Procurement of ICT Goods and Services – Overview of Procurement Practices (2012), p.77.
2. Re-use templates or ready text when drafting tenders
  More information:
  - Guide for the procurement of standards-based ICT — Elements of Good Practice SWD (2013) 224 final, p.20.
  - Guidelines for Public Procurement of ICT Goods and Services (2012), p.77.
  - Golden Book of e-Procurement Good Practice (2013), p.36.
3. Request ict solutions to be easily accessible by everybody
  More information:
  - Guide for the procurement of standards-based ICT – Elements of Good Practice, SWD (2013) 224 final, p.24.
  - Guidelines for Public Procurement of ICT Goods and Services – Overview of Procurement Practices (2012), p.24.
  - Guideline on public procurement of open source software (2010), p.10.
4. Avoid referring to proprietary products such as: brand names, trademarks and patents
  More information:
  - Against lock-in: building open ICT systems by making better use of standards in public procurement, COM (2013) 455 final, p.3.
  - Guideline on public procurement of open source software (2010), p.59.
5. Avoid to request compatibility with previously purchased ict solutions
  More information:
  - Against lock-in: building open ICT systems by making better use of standards in public procurement, COM (2013) 455 final, p.4.
  - Guide for the procurement of standards-based ICT — Elements of Good Practice SWD (2013) 224 final, p.24.
  - Guidelines for Public Procurement of ICT Goods and Services – Overview of Procurement Practices (2012), p.19.
  - Guideline on public procurement of open source software (2010), p.22.
6. Include explicit requirements to use standards and no proprietary elements
  More information:
  - Guide for the procurement of standards-based ICT — Elements of Good Practice SWD (2013) 224 final, p.22.
  - Guidelines for Public Procurement of ICT Goods and Services – Overview of Procurement Practices (2012), p.11.
  - "Sharing and re-using" clauses for contracts, Contractual Clauses for Service Procurement, p.22.
  - Guideline on public procurement of open source software (2010), p.42, 56.
7. Request the use of licence conditions that enable sharing and re-use
  More information:
  - Guide for the procurement of standards-based ICT — Elements of Good Practice SWD (2013) 224 final, p.20.
  - Guidelines for Public Procurement of ICT Goods and Services – Overview of Procurement Practices (2012), p.12.
  - "Sharing and re-using" clauses for contracts, Contractual Clauses for Service Procurement, p.14.
  - Guideline on public procurement of open source software (2010), p.48.
8. Do not request solutions with features that go beyond what is necessary
  More information:
  - Guidelines for Public Procurement of ICT Goods and Services – Overview of Procurement Practices (2012), p.21.
  - Guide for the procurement of standards-based ICT — Elements of Good Practice SWD (2013) 224 final, p.24.
9. Request functionalities to make data transfer effective
  More information:
  - Guide for the procurement of standards-based ICT — Elements of Good Practice SWD (2013) 224 final, p.23.
  - Against lock-in: building open ICT systems by making better use of standards in public procurement, COM (2013) 455 final, p.5.
  - Guidelines for Public Procurement of ICT Goods and Services – Overview of Procurement Practices (2012), p.19.
10. Include a provision on documentation during the contract and knowledge handover at the end of it
  More information:
  - Guide for the procurement of standards-based ICT — Elements of Good Practice SWD (2013) 224 final, p.24.
  - "Sharing and re-using" clauses for contracts, Contractual Clauses for Service Procurement, p.16.
11. Request to include exist costs in the price of the contract
  More information:
  - Guideline on public procurement of open source software (2010), p.28.
  - Guidelines for Public Procurement of ICT Goods and Services – Overview of Procurement Practices (2012), p.21.
  - Guide for the procurement of standards-based ICT — Elements of Good Practice SWD (2013) 224 final, p.26.
12. Assess the public procurement exercise
  More information:
  - Guide for the procurement of standards-based ICT — Elements of Good Practice SWD (2013)224 final, p.33.