Official UK procurement notice
Quantum Market Analysis and Intelligence Platform
Authority: NPL Management Limited (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNPL intends to engage with the market to explore solutions, delivery models, and commercial approaches for a Quantum Market Analysis and Intelligence Platform, delivered via a secure online portal. The objective is to access timely, structured, and actionable market intelligence on quantum technologies, companies, investments, research outputs, supply chains, standards, and policy/regulatory developments, to support evidence-based decision-making, business development, and strategic planning.
This premarket engagement seeks to:
- Understand the maturity of available platforms and datasets;
- Validate feasible functional, data, and security requirements;
- Explore delivery and licensing models (e.g., subscription/SaaS, enterprise seats);
- Identify potential risks, dependencies, and interoperability constraints.
The potential future procurement is expected to cover access to an online quantum market intelligence portal, optional API/data feeds, and associated support and services.
2.1 Core Deliverables
- Online Portal Access (role-based): Browser-accessible, secure platform providing dashboards, search, filtering, and/or export for quantum market intelligence.
- Data Coverage (quantum domain-specific), including:
o Company & ecosystem data: Start-ups, SMEs, incumbents, labs, Catapults; profiles with locations, maturity stage, funding history, partnerships, products, and IP footprints.
o Investment & funding: VC/PE, grants, public funding rounds; timelines, amounts, investors, co-investments, and geographic trends.
o Research outputs: Publications, patents, standards development, datasets; linkages to organisations/authors and topics.
o Technology segmentation: E.g., ion traps, superconducting, photonics, neutral atoms, NV centres, quantum communications, quantum timing and quantum sensors, enabling components, software stacks.
o Policy & regulation: HMG and overseas policies, standards activity (e.g., BSI/ISO/ETSI), export controls, subsidy regimes, and public programmes.
o Market sizing & forecasts (where available): Methodology disclosure and refresh cadence.
o Supply chain intelligence: Key suppliers, manufacturing capabilities, critical materials, bottlenecks, geographic exposure.
- Analytics & Reporting:
o Custom dashboards, saved views, alerting (e.g., new funding rounds, policy changes), comparison tools.
o Methodology transparency: Source lists, update frequency, inclusion/exclusion criteria.
- User Enablement:
o Onboarding, training sessions, knowledge base, and helpdesk access.
o Named-user or enterprise licensing, with flexible seat management.
2.2 Technical & Integration (Indicative)
- Security: SSO (SAML/OIDC) preferred, role-based access control, audit logging, data encryption in transit and at rest, UK GDPR compliance, documented data provenance and licensing.
- Availability & Performance: Target uptime (e.g., ≥99.5%), responsive UX with scalable backend.
- Hosting: UK/EU data residency preferences (EU/FVEY accepted), clarity on sub-processors and cloud regions.
- Auditability: Clear citation trails, confidence scoring, and version history for datasets and outputs.
2.3 Service & Support
- Support Channels: Email/ticketing, dedicated CSM (for enterprise).
- Training: Initial and refresher training; materials suitable for different user personas (policy, BD, technical).
- Roadmap Engagement: Mechanism to suggest feature enhancements and receive updates.
2.4 Commercial & Contractual (Indicative)
- Licensing: Subscription (annual/multi-year), named or concurrent seats; enterprise licenses.
- Pricing Transparency: Clear rate cards; volume tiers; fair usage parameters.
- IP & Data Rights: Clarity on:
o Rights to use platform outputs internally;
o Restrictions on redistribution;
o Ownership of any custom analyses developed for the Authority.
- Data Ethics: Approach to bias, representativeness, methodology robustness, and corrections/dispute processes.
2.5 Optional Components
- Bespoke analyst support: Periodic briefings, deep dives, or validation of key assumptions.
- Custom dashboards aligned to policy/business questions (e.g., UK supply chain resilience; regional clustering).
This is not an evaluation exercise and nothing in this activity will limit the opportunity to engage in any follow on ITT.
CPV: Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security · Software package and information systems
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How NPL Management Limited buys Software package and information systems (CPV 48), and who usually turns up
NPL Management Limited’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Software package and information systems (CPV 48) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
No small-firm winners recorded among this authority’s published awards in this sample.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 62 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid16%
2–331%
4–632%
7+22%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate55%
Within ±2%25%
Above estimate20%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 48Published estimate£280k
This lot lists more than one class in CPV 48. The comparison uses that group.
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 377 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid16%
2–331%
4–632%
7+22%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 26 Feb 2026, 13:07 GMT
- Last source update
- 26 Feb 2026, 13:07 GMT
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-017299- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-065d00Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
26 Feb 2026 → 1 Apr 2026 · 3 dates- Planning notice published243 days ago26 Feb 2026, 13:07 GMT
- Market engagement227 days ago13 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
Prior to initiating the procurement, NPL wishes to establish the level of market interest in the forthcoming procurement process.
Suitably qualified and experienced suppliers who may have an interest in this project are invited to register for this Preliminary Market Engagement.
The purpose of the market engagement is to help assess the reaction of the market, to understand risks and future possibilities to ensure a future proofed procurement strategy and resulting contract.
Any submission received in response to this exercise will not constitute any contractual agreement between the respondent and NPL. Nor does the receipt of a response automatically include the respondent in the procurement process.
Interested parties shall bear their own costs of participation in this Market Engagement of whatever nature. NPL shall not be liable for the costs, expenses or losses howsoever arising (including, without limitation, any loss of profit or other economic loss incurred), regardless of the outcome of the Market Engagement.
The next stage in the process will be considered once this exercise has been completed.
Questions:
Your Organisation
- What is your organisation's name?
- What is your name and role at the organisation?
- Please Provide a brief description of your Organisation
- Please provide the location (s) of your organisations operational facilities (e.g. headquarters, prominent locations).
Capabilities
- Does your organisation have the capability to deliver a solution in line with the requirements described in the Scope section of this document.
a. If yes, please provide an estimated lead time for delivery from the point of contract award.
b. Are there any current or upcoming commitments, capacity constraints, or resource limitations that may affect your ability to submit an offer or deliver the project.
Scope Delivery & Budget Alignment
- Would your organisation be able to deliver the full project scope independently?
If not, please specify which elements would require sub-contracting and identify any anticipated delivery partners (if known).
- Are there any risks, issues, or opportunities that you believe NPL should consider in relation to the delivery of this project?
- NPL's estimated budget for this project is £280,000 excluding VAT. Please confirm if delivery within this budget is feasible. If not please provide an indicative budget for a project of this nature.
If you have any questions or would like to provide a response to the above, please email etenders@npl.co.uk to request a Preliminary Market Engagement Supplier Questionnaire "FOR RESPONSES" excel spreadsheet. Please include the notice reference number.
Please return all responses by 17.00, Friday 13 March 2026
- Contract starts209 days ago1 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published26 Feb 2026, 13:07 GMTUK2
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender