FOI Release: Information relating to recent or current data centre-related procurement activity undertaken by your organisation within the last 3 years

Published: 08 July 2026
Freedom of information class: How we procure goods and services

Information request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA).

Documents

CW 206 407 FOI Information combined - (234.6 KB)

FOI reference: CW-2026-407
Date received: 18 June 2026
Date responded: 07 July 2026

Information requested:

  • High-level technical specification or requirements documents relating to relevant procurements
  • Evaluation criteria, weighting models, or scoring methodologies used during the procurement process
  • Clarification questions and responses issued during the procurement
  • High-level summaries or redacted extracts of successful supplier approaches relating to:
    • implementation methodology
    • migration or transition approach
    • support/service delivery model
    • resilience or continuity arrangements
    • governance or operational approach
  • Contract award values, durations, extension provisions, and any publicly releasable pricing summaries
  • Contract variation notices, change notices, or extension approvals where applicable
  • Any bidder evaluation summaries, moderation summaries, or award recommendation summaries capable of disclosure in redacted form

Response:

Question 1

High-level technical specifications or requirements documents

Please find attached summaries from the relevant Invitation to Tender (ITT) / Invitation to Quote (ITQ) documents and associated procurement requirements for the data centre procurements identified within the scope of your request. These documents contain the high-level technical and service requirements used by RoS during the procurement process.

Question 2

Evaluation criteria, weightings and scoring methodology

The procurement routes differed between suppliers. Where a formal tender evaluation framework was used, the enclosed document illustrates the evaluation methodology and scoring scale applied. The Telehouse West procurement was undertaken via the G‑Cloud framework and therefore did not utilise the same evaluation framework.

Question 3

Clarification questions and responses

Information held comprises correspondence between RoS and suppliers relating to clarification requests and responses on implementation arrangements, pricing, operational service provision, infrastructure monitoring and DCIM, connectivity, access, security, resilience and compliance matters.

The detailed correspondence has been withheld under sections 30(c) or 33(1)(b) where disclosure would reveal commercially sensitive solution information or information relating to the security and resilience of critical infrastructure, as detailed below.

Question 4

Supplier implementation methodology, migration approach, support model and resilience arrangements

Overall, the supplier implementation and service information covers the following broad areas:

  • datacentre location, facilities, rack footprint, storage, build-room facilities and overall hosting environment
  • power provision, resilience, cooling and environmental management arrangements
  • cabling infrastructure, network connectivity, on-net presence and optional out-of-band connectivity
  • physical security, access monitoring, access authorisation processes and 24/7 datacentre availability
  • operational support, remote hands support, service availability arrangements and planned works notifications
  • contract commencement, contract and service management arrangements, including purchase, rental and customer-owned rack options where relevant
  • implementation planning, capacity availability and scalability considerations
  • accreditations, compliance standards, sustainability compliance and environmental delivery arrangements

Specific details have been withheld under exemptions 30(c) or 33(1)(b), as detailed below.

Question 5

Contract award values, durations and pricing summaries

Information disclosed in the table below:

Supplier Final Contract Value (excl. VAT) Contract term Extension provisions
DataVita £317,053.89 3 years 2 x optional 12-month extensions
Softcat £96,419.58 3 years 2 x optional 12-month extensions
Telehouse West £92,110.89 3 years 1 x optional 12-month extension

Certain detailed pricing information has been withheld under section 33(1)(b) of FOISA.

Question 6

Contract variations and change notices

A number of contract variations have taken place with the suppliers. Below is a summary of each:

DataVita:

  • IP Transit Service added
  • the purchase of ThinPatch cables

Telehouse West:

  • contract extension value amendment
  • X Connects renewals

Full detailed copies of the variation forms have been withheld under sections 38(1)(b) or 33(1)(b) where necessary.

Question 7

Evaluation summaries, moderation summaries and award recommendations

Where a formal tender evaluation framework was used, evaluations were carried out using the methodology described in the templates provided in response to question 2 above.

Award recommendation reports for data centre procurement typically describe:

  • The nature of the competitive procurement exercise for hosting and connectivity services through a Scottish Government framework.
  • That Supplier submissions were evaluated against quality and pricing criteria, and the contract was awarded to the supplier offering the most economically advantageous response to meet organisational requirements.
  • The contract provides services for an initial defined period.

The detailed evaluation summaries and reward recommendations have been withheld under section 30(b)(ii) or section 33(1)(b), as detailed below.

The information consists of evaluators' recorded comments and moderation notes and generated during procurement assessment process, and detailed assessments of the supplier's technical, operational and commercial offering, including areas of competitive strength and weakness identified during the procurement process.

Information withheld

The below exemptions have been applied across each question above as required. The specific information types they have been applied to are detailed against each.

Section 30(b)(ii) – Substantial inhibition to free and frank exchange of views

Some information has been withheld under section 30(b)(ii) of FOISA. The information comprises candid assessment, discussion and moderation comments recorded during the procurement evaluation process. Disclosure would, or would be likely to, substantially inhibit the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation by officials involved in future procurement exercises.

Public Interest Test

We recognise that there is a public interest in transparency and accountability regarding procurement decisions.

However, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring that evaluators are able to participate fully and candidly in procurement moderation discussions without concern that preliminary comments and deliberations may subsequently be disclosed.

Section 30(c) – Substantial prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs

Some information has been withheld under section 30(c) of FOISA because disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the effective conduct of public affairs. The information relates to security, resilience and operational arrangements supporting critical Registers of Scotland infrastructure.

This includes:

  • infrastructure architecture information
  • resilience model information
  • power dependency information
  • physical security expectations
  • operational support arrangements
  • location intelligence regarding critical RoS hosting infrastructure

Disclosure would provide unnecessary insight into the design, protection and operation of infrastructure that underpins the delivery of public services and could increase security risk.

Public Interest Test

We recognise that there is a public interest in understanding how Registers of Scotland procures and manages critical technology services and in ensuring public accountability for expenditure of public funds.

However, there is also a strong public interest in protecting information relating to the security, resilience and operation of infrastructure used to support the delivery of public services.

Disclosure of detailed information concerning physical security arrangements, resilience measures, access controls, network arrangements and operational dependencies would be likely to increase security risks and substantially prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs.

Having considered the circumstances of this case, we have concluded that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

Section 33(1)(b) Substantial prejudice to commercial interests

Some information has been withheld under section 33(1)(b) of FOISA (Commercial Interests).

This includes:

  • detailed technical design information, physical security arrangements, infrastructure specifications, resilience arrangements and supplier-specific solution details
  • supplier-specific commercial information describing how services would be delivered and supported
  • detailed supplier responses describing implementation methodologies, migration approaches, service delivery models, resilience arrangements, operational processes, support mechanisms and associated technical solutions
  • detailed pricing information
  • detailed criterion-level scoring information

Disclosure of the above would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the commercial interests of both Registers of Scotland and the suppliers concerned. The information relates to infrastructure, service delivery arrangements and technical solutions that remain commercially sensitive and continue to be used in live operational environments, and detailed assessments of the supplier's technical, operational and commercial offering, including areas of competitive strength and weakness identified during the procurement process. Disclosure could advantage competitors in future procurements and undermine the ability of suppliers to compete fairly in the marketplace.

Public Interest Test

We recognise that there is a public interest in understanding how public bodies procure and manage critical infrastructure services. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in protecting legitimate commercial interests and ensuring that suppliers are not commercially disadvantaged through disclosure of detailed proprietary solution information.

Section 38(1)(b)- Third party personal data

Third-party personal data has been redacted under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA. Disclosure would contravene the data protection principles contained within UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018

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