This is a voluntary ex ante transparency (VEAT) notice. This notice acknowledges that the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland proposes to contract with Ekco for the continued provision of ICT Managed Support Services.

NMBI has a contract in place since October 2020 with ICT managed services company EKCO (previously Unity) for the provision of general ICT maintenance. It expired on 03 October 2024 and the spend to date has exceeded original estimates due to increased usage as a result of a number of unforeseen extenuating factors.

These include:

• internal NMBI ICT staff turnover – particularly at manager level
• implementing technical provisions for remote working due to COVID restrictions in 2020-2022
• complexities arising from the introduction of our digital registration system MYNMBI and the integration of this with our existing system, including access for third parties etc.
• a number of cyber security incidents, including two malware attack attempts, for which Ekco provided containment support, as well as investigation expertise.

To ensure compliance with the procurement regulations in these exceptional circumstances NMBI is planning to utilise article 32 of the European Union (Award of Public Authority Contracts) Regulations 2016, to award a new contract without prior publication to the existing provider EKCO for the continuation of their services.

The use of the derogation is justified for a number of reasons including:

• To provide essential continuity for cyber security. Ekco have an experienced security team who have responded effectively to a number of recent and ongoing issues in NMBI. It is essential that this support is continued and not doing so would represent a risk to the organisation.
• To provide essential continuity of services for NMBI. There has been considerable change/flux in the NMBI ICT department in the past 24 months and there are current resourcing challenges.
• To provide needed support for MyNMBI Next Gen (our digital registration system) from a partner that knows NMBI and the working environment. Requirements and demands on the inhouse ICT team have increased in 2024 due to the development of the new MyNMBI Next Gen digital registration system. Ongoing support from NMBI ICT is required by the project team and developers in relation to access etc. As a result, an overstretched existing team is working on a large critical business system that is absorbing a lot of resources.
• Internal ICT capacity at a senior level has been severely lessened for unforeseen reasons. In the meantime, and in mitigation of this situation, Ekco has essential understanding of the NMBI ICT environment which is needed to maintain ongoing operational support for the ICT environment, suppliers and systems.