Public Call for Tender Requested: Swiss Group Challenges Microsoft Contracts

[ Thanks to Britta Wuelfing for this link. ]

"The Swiss BBL office had already acted on Microsoft's bid in February but did not make it public until the May 1, 2009 issue of the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce. The deal is that the existing Microsoft license, maintenance and support agreements for desktops and servers would be extended for three years, at an annual cost of 14 million Swiss francs. Now Swiss organizations have submitted a complaint against the contract with the Swiss Federal Courts.

"According to the BBL office, a public call for tender was not required in this case, as BBL spokesperson Katja Lunau revealed to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung on May 5. She claimed that the "uniqueness of the contract" was based on the lack of a viable competitive product, that competitive bidding was not an option and that the license agreements do not need to be made public."

Complete Story

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