Tenders/002621 - Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) for 24/7 Managed Security Operations and a Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service

Open🇬🇧United KingdomServices

002621 - Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) for 24/7 Managed Security Operations and a Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service

Durham County Council

Published: Jul 29, 2026

Updated: Jul 29, 2026

Source: uk_fts

About This Opportunity

This is a services contract in the security and defense, information and communication technology and finance and banking sectors, with a focus on Public Finance. Located in United Kingdom, Europe, this opportunity is open to firms and consortiums, with an estimated budget of GBP 4.2 million.

Published through UK FTS - Find a Tender Service, a national government procurement portal. Public procurement tenders follow the country's national bidding regulations and may have specific eligibility and documentation requirements for services in the security and defense sector. Service contracts are typically evaluated on both technical quality and price, and may require bidders to demonstrate relevant experience and qualified personnel. This is an advance notice — the formal tender is expected to be published shortly. Interested parties can use this time to prepare documentation and identify potential partners.

Description

In October 2025, Durham County Council issued a UK2 Preliminary Market Engagement Notice (2025/S 000-063329) and written PME questionnaire on the Open Portal (OPEN20251753) for Extended Detection and Response (XDR) Solution for Endpoint and Email Protection with 24/7 Security Operations Centre (SOC) Services. This engagement attracted 24 responses from the market, however the scope of our requirements has now changed, and we are re-engaging with the market regarding our refined requirements. Please note, Extended Detection and Response is no longer within the scope of this procurement process. Our annual budget is approximately £600,000 per annum and will be looking to procure a contract with an initial term of 3 years, with 2 x 24 month optional extensions. As part of this market engagement process, we are particularly interested in providers proposing what they feel is realistic without our stated budget and in line with our requirements and digital estate priorities. Following satisfactory completion of the below questionnaire, we will be inviting interested suppliers to participate in 1 hour Teams discussions in September 2026, to discuss your specific offering in line with our requirements. These technical discussions will still be part of Preliminary Market Engagement to help us refine our specification and tender documents further, prior to issuing competitive tender process documents.

Data provenance

This notice is sourced from UK FTS - Find a Tender Service and was originally published on July 29, 2026. Last refreshed today. Reference: 071810-2026. BidsFactory mirrors official procurement notices and links back to the source for full legal text.

About Durham County Council

Durham County Council has issued 271 procurement notices on BidsFactory, including 10 currently open and 209 awarded contracts. Activity concentrates in Governance & Public Administration, Information & Communication Technology, and Transport & Logistics. All notices are published for United Kingdom. Notices are distributed via UK FTS - Find a Tender Service and UK Contracts Finder. Most recent publication: July 29, 2026.

Frequently asked questions about this tender

Who is the contracting authority?

This notice was issued by Durham County Council in United Kingdom. The authority is responsible for evaluating bids, awarding the contract, and managing performance.

What type of contract is this?

This is a Services contract in the Security, Defense & Justice sector. The classification helps bidders match the opportunity to their qualifications and registered scope of supply.

What is the estimated budget?

The estimated contract value is £4,200,000 - £4,200,000. Bidders should ensure their proposals are consistent with this range and account for any local taxes and contract execution costs.

Where will the contract be performed?

The contract is for delivery in United Kingdom. Foreign bidders should review local registration, taxation, and any in-country presence requirements before submitting.

How can I submit a bid?

Visit UK FTS - Find a Tender Service to access the full notice, required documents, and submission instructions. Quote reference 071810-2026 when communicating with the contracting authority.