Supply of Microsoft Office 365 Licenses, Operations Support, and Migration Services

The Higher Education Commission - HEC (Higher Education Commision (HEC)) Islamabad Capital Territory invites sealed bids for the supply of Microsoft Office 365 licenses, operations support, and migration services under the Microsoft Enrollment for Education Solutions (EES) framework for the financial year 2026-27. This procurement includes the provision of 65,000 M365 A3 Unified Edu Sub Per User licenses, additional Microsoft products licenses, on-demand university migration services, and dedicated premium expert support hours. Items being procured: - M365 A3 Unified Edu Sub Per User licenses (65,000 units) - Additional Microsoft products licenses including Microsoft 365 Copilot EDU Add-on, SQL Server Standard Core, System Center Standard Core, Windows Server Standard Core, Azure prepayment, Defender O365 licenses, Power BI Pro and Premium, Dynamics 365 modules, Visual Studio Pro, and others - On-Demand University Migration Service Tiers with locked-in unit rates for different user brackets - Dedicated Premium Expert Support Hours Pool with a baseline of 200 hours per year The scope covers license supply and provisioning, centralized tenant administration, hybrid identity infrastructure management including upgrade of PERN Active Directory and Microsoft Entra Connect servers, tenant-to-tenant migration services for universities opting for independent tenants, and comprehensive security and compliance management including MFA, Conditional Access, and Microsoft Defender policies. The contract also includes Education Transformation Agreement (ETA) activities such as training, workshops, certification boot camps, and coordination of Microsoft global programs under the national theme 'AI for Research and Research for AI'. Eligibility requires bidders to be valid Microsoft Authorized Licensing Solution Partners with relevant certifications, have a proven track record with at least five active SLA or software subscription contracts involving large-scale Microsoft Cloud environments valued at USD 1.5 million or more, and demonstrate financial strength with an average annual turnover of at least PKR 1,000 million over the last three financial years. Bids must be submitted electronically via EPADS v2.0 by Tuesday, September 29, 2026, 11:30 AM, with bid opening at 12:00 PM the same day. Bidders should ensure compliance with technical specifications, including deployment of certified technical staff, adherence to security and migration protocols, and provision of detailed documentation and reporting. The contract term is three years, extendable up to five years, with locked-in pricing for the entire period. Payment terms include no advance payment, with payments linked to license activation, service delivery milestones, and quarterly invoicing for managed support and expert hours. A practical tip for bidders: Register early on EPADS v2.0 and carefully review the detailed technical and financial requirements to ensure full compliance and competitive pricing. Ensure all bid documents, including bid security, are submitted timely to avoid disqualification.