Official UK procurement notice
Email Achieving Solution (EAS) Software Renewal
Authority: NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNetwork Rail is undertaking a direct award to renew support and maintenance services for the Email Archiving Solution (EAS), also known as the Capax Enterprise Archive Solution. The EAS is a legacy email and file archive platform used to access, search, retrieve and reconstruct historic records for statutory, regulatory, audit and litigation purposes. Continued support is essential to maintain evidential integrity and ensure compliance with legal and information governance obligations.
The service includes support and maintenance for approximately 52,050 EAS licences and associated components, including SOLR search, eDiscovery, archival and retrieval tools, and STORM functionality. The solution is hosted on‑premise within Network Rail infrastructure and supports a fixed historic dataset with no change to scope or functionality.
This procurement is being awarded directly to Zantaz Data Resources Ltd, the only supplier licensed and technically capable of supporting the EAS platform and its dependent components. No alternative suppliers exist with the necessary technical rights or capability to maintain this legacy system. The direct award ensures continuity of a business‑critical compliance service while maintaining cost stability and value for money.
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedProcedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Direct award
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Utilities
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 9 Mar 2026, 23:12 GMT
- Last source update
- 19 Mar 2026, 15:08 GMT
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-025308- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0665c6Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
- Single Suppliers Intellectual Property Exclusive Rights
- Published justification
This contract is being awarded by direct award on the basis of exclusive intellectual property and technical rights.
The Email Archiving Solution (EAS), also known as the Capax Enterprise Archive Solution, is a proprietary legacy platform supported exclusively by Zantaz Data Resources Ltd, which holds the sole licence and intellectual property rights required to maintain, support and develop the solution and its dependent components. These include the core archive platform, SOLR search capability, eDiscovery functionality, and associated archival and retrieval tools.
No alternative suppliers have the legal authority, licensing rights, or technical capability to provide compliant support for this system. Network Rail does not own the underlying software intellectual property and cannot lawfully procure support services for the EAS platform from any other provider.
A competitive tendering procedure was therefore not undertaken, as it would not generate any technically or legally compliant bids. Previous market analysis and historic sourcing activity have confirmed that Zantaz Data Resources Ltd is the only supplier capable of delivering the required services, and that competition is absent due to exclusive rights rather than a lack of market engagement.
The direct award ensures continuity of a business‑critical compliance service required to support statutory, regulatory, audit and litigation obligations, while maintaining evidential integrity and avoiding the significant operational and legal risks that would arise from unsupported access to historic email and file records.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
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Timeline
19 Mar 2026 → 30 Mar 2026 · 2 dates- Notice published221 days ago19 Mar 2026, 15:08 GMT
- Standstill ends210 days ago30 Mar 2026, 23:59 BST
Notice history
3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 9 Mar 2026- Transparency notice published9 Mar 2026, 23:12 GMTUK5
- Contract award notice published19 Mar 2026, 15:08 GMTUK6
- Contract signature expected30 Mar 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zantaz Data Resources LtdSME1 Apr 2026 – 29 Dec 2028 · up to 29 Dec 2030Extensions: The contract includes two optional extension periods, each of 12 months, allowing the total contract duration to extend from an initial three‑year term to a maximum of five years. The extensions may be exercised by Network Rail to ensure continued support and maintenance of the Capax Enterprise Archive Solution (EAS) where the system remains operationally required for statutory, regulatory, audit and litigation purposes. The extension option provides continuity of a business‑critical legacy service supported by a sole licensed supplier, where no alternative technically viable market exists. | £938,176 | 19 Mar 2026standstill to 30 Mar 2026 | Standstill |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
2 commercial parties on the notice- Zantaz Data Resources LtdAwarded supplier
- Zantaz Data Resources LtdAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender