TenderSignal is the UK's most complete source of live IT and software tenders.
We aggregate technology procurement from 145+ portals — including Find a Tender, Contracts Finder, Crown Commercial Service notices, NHS Shared Business Services, GCloud-adjacent ITTs, and council, university, police and housing-association portals. Buyers include central government departments, every UK local authority, NHS trusts, MOD, devolved administrations and major arms-length bodies.
Whether you're a one-person consultancy bidding for discovery work, an SME delivering bespoke software, or a systems integrator chasing multi-million Microsoft, ServiceNow or AWS programmes, TenderSignal covers your patch. Sub-sectors range from infrastructure and networking through to SaaS, low-code, data platforms, AI and managed services.
Most digital opportunities re-tender on 3–4 year cycles. Pro users see expiring contracts and forecast notices 6–12 months ahead — so you can build relationships with the technology owner before procurement opens.
What's covered
UK public-sector technology spend exceeds £20bn annually and is dominated by Crown Commercial Service (CCS) frameworks: G-Cloud 14, Digital Outcomes 6, Big Data and Analytics, Network Services, Technology Products 2 and Cyber Security Services 3. Below the £213,477 services threshold buyers can use direct award; above it, competitions must be advertised.
The Procurement Act 2023 introduced the Open Procedure and Competitive Flexible Procedure as the main routes. NHS England, MOD, HMRC, DWP, Home Office and the devolved governments each run additional sector frameworks — particularly for clinical systems, defence cyber and tax/benefits platforms.
Notable demand drivers include legacy mainframe replacement, cloud-first policy, the Government Digital Service standards, NHS Federated Data Platform, the police National Enabling Programmes, and the AI Opportunities Action Plan.
Public IT procurement increasingly uses lighter-touch routes for under-threshold work (Direct Award from G-Cloud, Further Competition on Digital Outcomes) and full Open Procedure ITTs for larger spend. Quality scoring typically weights technical approach, team capability, delivery methodology and social value.
Framework presence is near-essential: G-Cloud 14 for SaaS/IaaS/PaaS, Digital Outcomes 6 for capability-based hiring, and sector frameworks (NHS SBS, Police DEAL, MOD DAA, Jisc for HE) for vertical markets. Cyber Essentials Plus is now mandatory for most central-government work; ISO 27001 is widely required.
Common pitfalls: jargon-heavy bids that don't address user needs, missing GDS Service Standard alignment, weak transition plans, and under-priced commercials that fail value-for-money tests. Strong bids show named delivery teams, references to similar public-sector work, clear accessibility (WCAG 2.2) commitments, and credible social value.
Most IT tenders are delivered remotely or hybrid, so geography matters less than for construction. TenderSignal still lets you filter by buyer region — useful for council, NHS and police work that often requires UK-based delivery teams.
Public IT contracts vary widely — discovery and alpha phases typically run £50k–£250k, while full beta-to-live development sits at £500k–£5m. Multi-year managed services and platform contracts regularly exceed £20m for large central-government departments.
For under-threshold spend, yes — most buyers default to G-Cloud 14 or Digital Outcomes 6. Above threshold you can bid directly via Find a Tender, but framework presence still helps reach buyers earlier in the procurement cycle.
TenderSignal ingests around 150–300 new IT opportunities per week. Volume peaks in Q1 and Q4 as departmental budgets cycle, and after framework refreshes (G-Cloud rebids every 12 months).
Cyber Essentials Plus is now mandatory for almost all central-government IT work. ISO 27001 is widely required. For NHS systems, DCB 0129/0160 compliance, NHS DSP Toolkit and clinical safety officers are typically needed.
Yes — SMEs win around 28% of central-government digital spend, partly because G-Cloud and Digital Outcomes are designed to be SME-accessible. Lotting under the Procurement Act 2023 makes large programmes more SME-friendly too.
Services above £213,477 (central government) or £164,176 (sub-central) must be advertised on Find a Tender. Below that, buyers can use frameworks, quotes or direct awards depending on internal policy.
TenderSignal Pro users see PIN and forecast notices, plus expiring contract alerts. This means you can spot the NHS Federated Data Platform extensions, MOD Digital Foundry calls, and DWP transformation work before formal ITTs land.
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