Tender for a framework agreement on the delivery of Cybersecurity advisory and assessment services

To ensure informed decision-making and maintain an appropriate level of cyber resilience, the Customer seeks access to independent technical experts capable of evaluating cybersecurity risks from an adversarial perspective. The purpose of the agreement is to provide the Customer with on-demand access to highly skilled technical cybersecurity experts with offensive security backgrounds, capable of delivering rapid, pragmatic and risk-based assessments of new technologies, systems, solutions, architectures and security-related questions.

The service shall complement the Customer's internal cybersecurity capabilities by providing independent expert judgement, specialized technical expertise and threat-informed analysis to support secure decision-making, risk management and operational resilience. The Supplier shall provide access to cybersecurity specialists with relevant expertise across infrastructure, cloud, applications, identity and access management, emerging technologies, adversarial techniques and offensive security methodologies.

Yderligere oplysninger: Participation in the tender procedure may only take place by electronic means via the electronic tendering system used by the contracting entity. For access to the procurement documents, the candidate must be registered or register as a user. If the application contains several versions of the same document, the latest uploaded version will apply. All communication in connection with the tender procedure, including questions and answers, must take place through the electronic tendering system. Reference is made to the tender specifications and appendix B for information concerning questions and answers. Interested operators are requested to keep updated via the electronic tendering system.

If the candidate encounters problems with the system, please contact support by submitting a ticket at the following link https://contact.mercell.com/?lang=en or by calling (+45) 70 20 80 14. As its application, the candidate must submit an ESPD as preliminary documentation of the circumstances set out in section 148(1), paras (1)-(3) of the Danish Public Procurement Act (udbudsloven). It is not necessary for the candidate to sign the ESPD document. For groups of operators (e.g. a consortium), a separate ESPD must be submitted for each participating operator.

Where the candidate is a group of operators, the ESPD document of each participant in the group must be signed by the participant in question. The candidate heading the group and submitting the application is not required to sign its ESPD document. If the candidate relies on the capacities of other entities, an ESPD must be submitted for and signed by each of the entities on which it relies. Before the award decision is made, the tenderer to whom the contracting entity intends to award the contract must provide documentation of the information submitted in the ESPD pursuant to sections 151-152, cf. section 153 of the Danish Public Procurement Act.

As an alternative to the documentation mentioned in sections 153-155, 157 and 158 of the Danish Public Procurement Act, the applicant and tenderer may submit to the contracting entity a certificate of registration in an official list of approved economic operators, see section 156 of the Danish Public Procurement Act, issued by the competent authority. The contracting entity only accepts certificates of registration in an official list from applicants and tenderers established in the country holding the official list.

The contracting entity will select the number of candidates by applying the selection criteria stated in this contract notice, unless the contracting entity receives no more than the stated number of compliant requests for participation. The difference between the estimated value and the maximum value is due to the uncertainty of the final value of the individual orders placed under the framework agreement. The estimated value thus reflects the contracting entity’s estimate of the expected purchase under the framework agreement, whereas the maximum value reflects the highest value of all contracts to be performed within the term of the framework agreement.

This takes into account, partly, the contracting entity’s expectations based on the most likely purchase under the framework agreement, partly, the expected uncertainty of such estimate. In relation to the estimated value, particular attention is drawn to the fact that the tenderers are not guaranteed any minimum purchase under the framework agreement, and the estimate therefore implies no commitment on the part of the contracting entity to make a minimum purchase under the framework agreement. Decisive for the estimated value of the framework agreement will be unexpected need for the services covered by the Agreement.

It is specifically pointed out to the tenderer that the tenderer is bound by the prices offered, irrespective of the turnover specifically achieved under the framework agreement. This means that the tenderer is also bound by the prices offered if the specific turnover deviates from the estimated value, both upwards and downwards. It should be noted that each candidate may only submit one application for prequalification. The contracting entity may use the procedure of section 159(5) of the Danish Public Procurement Act in the event that applications or tenders do not comply with the formal requirements of the tender documents.

It should be noted that the indicated term of the agreement will commence on signature of the framework agreement. In addition to the indicated duration of contract, an expiry phase that is flexible in time will be required when the contract is at an end in order to ensure an undisturbed continuation of the services in connection with a possible re-tender. The agreement is not divided into lots, as a further division would undermine the close cooperation with a particularly trusted partner envisaged by this procurement.

Due to the nature of the services, the supplier must necessarily have access to highly sensitive information, which makes a single-provider structure justified and proportionate.

Omfatter (CPV-koder): It-tjenester: rådgivning, programmeludvikling, internet og support, Support- og konsulentvirksomhed i forbindelse med edb.

Tildeling: Price 30 %, Competences 40 %, Collaboration model 20 %, Risk management and information security 10 %.

Cfr. Appendix A to the tender specificaitons.

Cfr. Appendix A to the tender specifications

Varighed: 48 måneder.

Rammeaftalens maksimale værdi: 11,4 mio. kr.

Krav til tilbudsgiver:

The candidate must submit the ESPD with the following information: A list of the 5 most significant comparable services that the candidate has carried out in the latest 3 years before the expiry of the deadline for application. Only references relating to services carried out at the time of the deadline for application will be given importance in the evaluation of whether the requirements regarding technical and professional capacity have been complied with, see below. Hence, in the case of an ongoing task, only the part of the services already performed at the time of the deadline for application will be included in the evaluation of the reference.

Each reference is requested to include a brief description of the deliveries made. The description of the delivery should include a clear description of the services to which the delivery relates and the candidate’s role(s) in the performance of the delivery. The reference is furthermore requested to include the financial value of the delivery (amount), the date of delivery and the name of the customer (recipient). When indicating the date of the delivery, the candidate is requested to indicate the date of commencement and finalisation of the delivery.

If this is not possible, for example if the tasks were performed on a continuous basis under a framework agreement, the candidate is asked to indicate how the date is specified. No more than 5 references may be stated, irrespective of whether the candidate is a single operator, whether the candidate relies on the technical capacity of other entities, or is a group of operators (e.g. a consortium). Where more than 5 references are stated, only the most recent 5 references will be taken into account. Any additional references will be disregarded. If it is not possible to decide which references are the most recent 5 references, the references will be selected by drawing lots.

In this procedure, the candidate may rely on the technical capacity of other operators to fulfil the suitability requirements. The operator(s) making its/their technical capacity available to the candidate must sign a letter of commitment, see further in the tender specifications. The form is enclosed as an attachment to the tender specifications. If the candidate relies on the professional experience of other entities for the performance of specific parts of the services comprised by the contract, such specific parts of the services under the contract must be performed by the entity on which the candidate relies.

The ESPD serves as provisional documentation that the candidate fulfils the requirements in respect of technical and professional capacity. Before the award decision is made, the candidate to whom the contracting entity intends to award the contract must submit documentation that the information stated in the ESPD is accurate. No additional documentation of technical and professional capacity will be required from the candidate. However, the contracting entity reserves the right to contact the tenderer or the customer stated in the reference for verification of the information stated in the reference, including the dates of the reference indicated.

Minimum requirement: as a minimum requirement for participation, the candidate must provide documentation of at least one (1) reference for the provision of specialized cybersecurity advisory and assessment services.

Criteria for selection among the suitable candidates. The shortlisting of candidates invited to tender will be based on an evaluation of which candidates have documented the most relevant specialized cybersecurity advisory and assessment services in relation to the main services put up for tender. The relevance assessment will be made on the basis of the extent to which the references, combined, document experience in the provision of services that are comparable to the main services put up for tender.

In the evaluation of which candidates have documented the most relevant services, the contracting entity will award points to the candidates on a scale from 1-5 for each main service, based on the extent to which the references, combined, document relevant experience in providing the main services. On this basis, the candidate will be awarded a total score calculated as the average number of points awarded for the main services.

In the selection, the contracting entity will place particular emphasis on the following main services: • Demonstrated experience with delivery of similar services into central banking, financial sector or similar regulated environments • Demonstrated experience with providing a multidisciplinary team across relevant areas such as technical assessment, advisory, AI assurance, operational resilience and incident readiness • Demonstrated experience in technical assurance/technical validation activities in live, business-critical or production environments • Demonstrated experience in delivering similar services including communication with both technical and non-technical customer resources • Demonstrated experience with delivering similar services in various it-environments, ex.

Cloud, outsourced, on-prem and in-house devel-oped systems