NOI21127001 Insight Notice of Intent

Description

NOTICE OF INTENT TO CONTRACT

This Notice of Intent is issued in accordance with BCER procurement policy permitting non‑competitive awards where continuity, compatibility, and time sensitivity apply.

The British Columbia Energy Regulator (BCER) hereby gives notice of its intent to contract with Insight Canada Inc. for the provision of Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) licensing and related services.

The intent of this contract is to support BCER’s transition to a CSP licensing model that enables improved license governance, cost transparency, and operational flexibility, while ensuring continuity of Microsoft services.

The following responsibilities will be within scope of contract:

• Provision, management, and administration of all Microsoft licensing, including cloud‑based and non‑cloud (on‑premises and subscription) licensing, as applicable to BCER.
• Management of Microsoft licensing programs, including but not limited to CSP and other Microsoft licensing models in use by BCER ensuring continuity, compliance, and cost control during such transitions.
• License lifecycle management, including provisioning, modifications, renewals, true‑ups, true‑downs, and cancellations.
• Consolidated billing, license usage reporting, and cost transparency across all Microsoft products to support BCER financial controls and audit requirements.
• Licensing advisory services related to Microsoft products, including optimization, compliance, and transition guidance between licensing programs.
• Support services, including end‑user desktop support for BCER IT staff, comprising: Intake, tracking, and resolution of support tickets submitted by designated BCER IT staff.
• Support for Microsoft desktop, productivity, server, and cloud services as used by BCER IT staff.
• Escalation and coordination with Microsoft support on BCER’s behalf where required.
• Defined service level agreements (SLAs) for support tickets, including priority classifications, response times, and resolution targets.
• Regular reporting on support ticket volumes, response times, and SLA performance.
• Support services are provided to supplement BCER internal IT operations and are limited to services and users explicitly authorized by BCER.

A new CSP contract with Insight will be initiated to cover the 3-year period from July 01, 2026, to June 30, 2029

BCER has chosen not to publicly tender this contract for the following reasons:

1. Continuity of Critical Microsoft Services

BCER’s Microsoft licensing environment underpins core business, regulatory, and operational functions. Disruption or errors in licensing, billing, or tenant administration would present an unacceptable operational risk. Insight Canada Inc. currently supports BCER’s Microsoft licensing environment and has existing, working knowledge of BCER’s tenant configuration, licensing structure, and billing requirements, significantly reducing transition risk.

1. EA to CSP Transition Risk and Timing Constraints

BCER is transitioning from an existing Microsoft Enterprise Agreement to a Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) licensing model within a defined timeframe. Conducting a competitive procurement during this transition would materially increase the risk of service interruption, licensing misalignment, delayed provisioning, and billing inaccuracies. Maintaining the incumbent licensing partner during this period is necessary to ensure service continuity.

1. Technical and Administrative Integration Complexity

Microsoft licensing involves complex interdependencies between licensing programs, tenant configuration, billing, security, and support escalation paths. Insight Canada Inc. is already integrated into BCER’s administrative, financial, and operational processes. Introducing a new provider would require parallel onboarding, duplicated controls, and re‑establishment of escalation and reporting mechanisms, increasing both risk and administrative burden without commensurate value.

1. Specialized Knowledge and Proven Capability

The scope of services includes enterprise‑scale Microsoft licensing management, advisory services, and end‑user desktop support for IT staff with defined service levels. Insight Canada Inc. has demonstrated capability in delivering these services within BCER’s environment and governance framework. This specialized knowledge cannot be reasonably replicated by an alternate supplier within the required timeframe.

1. Value Protection Rather Than Vendor Preference

This decision is based on demonstrated capability, risk mitigation, and continuity of operations, not vendor preference. The intent is to protect BCER from avoidable operational, financial, and compliance risks that would arise from a provider change at this time.

Vendors wishing to object to this decision should contact the procurement team via email at Procurement@bc-er.ca on or before 2:00 p.m. local time on May 14, 2026 presenting specific reasons for their objections. Any objection must clearly demonstrate the vendor’s ability to meet all BCER technical, operational, support, billing, and transition requirements, complete the transition within the same timeframe, and do so without disruption to existing Microsoft service

Bradley Weaver

Contract & Procurement Administrator

Bradley.Weaver@bc-er.ca