Core Business Application Takeover, Transition, Implementation, Enhancement, Database Administration, Managed Services, and IaaS Hosting at NTC Data Centre

The Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) Islamabad invites qualified IT firms for the comprehensive takeover, transition, implementation, enhancement, and managed services of its Core Business Application (CBA) hosted at NTC Data Centres in Islamabad and Lahore. This procurement covers the full lifecycle management of the CBA including application takeover on an As-Is-Where-Is basis, end-to-end support, database administration, middleware management, performance tuning, security hardening, and compliance with regulatory requirements. The scope includes provisioning Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) comprising servers, storage, networking equipment, and related software components, excluding Oracle 19c licenses which will be provided by CDNS. The vendor will also provide managed services for existing and new infrastructure, ensuring 24/7 monitoring, incident management, routine maintenance, disaster recovery drills, and backup management. The infrastructure must be scalable, secure, and compliant with SBP and AML/CFT regulations. Eligibility requires bidders to be registered legal entities in Pakistan for at least five years, with active NTN and STRN, not blacklisted, and with a minimum cumulative IT turnover of PKR 750 million over the last three financial years. Experience in core banking applications, digital banking, middleware, card management, loan management, and E-KYC solutions is mandatory. Bidders must demonstrate in-house expertise in Java, microservices, Kubernetes, Oracle DB administration, and API integrations. Registration with PSEB or PASHA for at least three years is required. Key dates include bid submission by May 14, 2026, 11:00 AM via EPADS v2.0, with bid opening the same day at 11:30 AM. Manual submissions are not accepted. The bid security of PKR 3 million must be submitted in original before bid opening. The contract will be awarded on a turnkey basis for all three groups: Core Business Application, IaaS provisioning, and Managed Services. The contract period is one year with possible extensions up to four years subject to performance and mutual agreement. A practical tip for bidders is to ensure full compliance with the detailed eligibility and technical criteria, including submission of all required documentary evidence and bid security in the prescribed format and timelines. Early registration on EPADS v2.0 and thorough review of the RFP annexures will facilitate a smooth bidding process and avoid disqualification due to incomplete submissions.