RM1043.8-1-Manchester City Council: SAP BusinessObjects to Microsoft Fabric Migration

Description

Pre-market engagement An internal pre-discovery assessment has been completed, providing compelling evidence of the risks and limitations of the current SAP BusinessObjects platform and validating Microsoft Fabric as the strategically aligned target platform. This document has been developed based on that analysis. Work done so far MCC has developed a detailed Project Brief and an initial Requirement Specification covering Functional, Non-Functional, Service Level, and Operational Support requirements. The foundational analysis of the as-is landscape is complete. The immediate next step is to procure a partner to lead the detailed Discovery phase. Which phase the project is in Not applicable Existing team The supplier will integrate with the established MCC project team, including: • ICT Project Manager • Programme Manager • Business Analyst • Technical Architect • Performance & Insight Leads • Service Delivery & Infrastructure Managers Address where the work will be done The majority of work can be conducted remotely, with requirement for on-site presence at Manchester Town Hall Extension, Manchester City Centre, M60 2LA for key workshops, governance meetings, and presentations. Working arrangements We expect a hybrid working model. The supplier's team should be prepared to work remotely and on-site as required for collaborative workshops, sprint planning, and project board meetings (estimated 1-2 days per week on-site during key phases). All travel expenses must be included within the proposal. Provide more information about your security requirements: Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) Provide more information about your security requirements: Supplier personnel must be baseline security cleared to handle sensitive public sector data. The supplier organisation must hold Cyber Essentials Plus certification (or equivalent) as a mandatory condition of contract award. Latest start date 2026-05-26 Enter the expected contract length: 1 year Extension period: 6 months Special terms and conditions We will need the delivery partner to resource the project to meet the deadlines of the project Are you prepared to show your budget details?: No Provide further information: The Discovery phase will develop a fully costed implementation plan. Suppliers should propose based on the specified outcomes and requirements. Confirm if you require a contracted out service or supply of resource Contracted out service: the off-payroll rules do not apply Summary of work Manchester City Council requires a specialist delivery partner to support the complete migration from an end-of-life, on-premise SAP BusinessObjects platform to a modern, cloud-native analytics environment based on Microsoft Fabric & Power BI. The project aims to de-risk a critical business system, reduce total cost of ownership, and empower business users with self-service analytics. We require a partner to: • Lead a comprehensive Discovery phase to finalise requirements, architecture, and a fully costed implementation plan. • Execute the subsequent Implementation phase, migrating ~500 reports and ~800 users from BusinessObjects to Microsoft Fabric and Power BI. • Deliver all necessary security rationalisation, data pipeline migration, user training, and organisational change management. • Provide post-go-live warranty support and facilitate knowledge transfer to MCC’s operational support team. The solution must ensure seamless integration with the existing on-premise System C Data Warehouse and core source systems (EYES, LCS, LAS, ContrOCC), implement robust data security for sensitive information (particularly Social Care data), and guarantee business continuity through a formal parallel running period Where the supplied staff will work North West England Who is the organisation using the products or services Manchester City Council Why the work is being done This work is critical to Manchester City Council's "Cloud First" and Digital Strategy. The current SAP BusinessObjects platform is end-of-life, presenting unacceptable security vulnerabilities, high licensing costs, poor performance, and an unsustainable dependency on specialist IT resources. The migration to Microsoft Fabric & Power BI will future-proof our enterprise data analytics capability, enable data driven decision making, and deliver significant operational and financial benefits. All critical reporting functionality must be migrated and operational on the new platform by the end of October 2026. A comprehensive, supplier led Discovery phase is an urgent prerequisite to this timeline. The business problem you need to solve MCC's core reporting and analytics capability is built on an obsolete platform that is: • A high security and compliance risk due to its end-of-life status. • Financially unsustainable, with prohibitive licensing and support costs. • Operationally restrictive, causing bottlenecks as simple report changes require specialist IT developers. • Technically limited, with poor performance on large datasets and no integration with modern tools like Microsoft Teams. This inhibits agile, evidence based decision making across critical service areas like Social Care and Education and contradicts our strategic direction. First user type: • As a Social Care Manager, I need accurate, performant safeguarding reports, so that I can make timely decisions to protect vulnerable citizens. • As a Business Intelligence Developer, I need a modern development platform, so that I can build and modify reports quickly without bottlenecks. • As a Service Director, I need interactive dashboards accessible in Microsoft Teams, so that I can monitor performance and collaborate with my team on data. • As a Performance Analyst, I need self-service tools to explore data, so that I can generate insights without waiting for IT support. • As the Information Asset Owner, I need robust governance, audit, and security controls, so that I can ensure compliance with GDPR and protect sensitive citizen data.