Municipality of Bari Awards Exprivia €1.73 Million IT Management and Cybersecurity Contract

Standfirst

The Municipality of Bari has awarded Exprivia S.p.A. a contract worth €1,731,240 for IT administration and management, interoperability, cybersecurity and associated technology products and solutions. Published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 22 October 2026, the award notice records four tenders received under an open procedure. The contract is intended to cover a 36-month period, with the procurement combining operational IT support with security, backup and recovery, and data-related services.

Introduction

The Municipality of Bari, through its Stazione Unica Appaltante, Contratti e Gestione Lavori Pubblici division, has selected Exprivia S.p.A. for an IT services contract covering the administration and management of IT systems, interoperability services and cybersecurity, alongside the supply of related products and solutions.

The award was published under TED notice 731175-2026 in OJ S issue 205/2026 on 22 October 2026. The procurement was conducted through an open procedure under Directive 2014/24/EU. The notice identifies the contract as a services procurement, with helpdesk and support services as its main classification.

The estimated value was €8,065,209.60 excluding VAT, while the reported value of the awarded contract is €1,731,240. The notice records four tenders for the lot and identifies Exprivia as the successful tenderer. It also indicates that subcontracting is permitted or planned, although the value and percentage are not disclosed in the published result.

Why This Contract Matters

The contract brings together several IT functions that are important to the operation and protection of a local authority's technology environment. These include IT administration, operational management, interoperability, cybersecurity and backup and recovery solutions. The notice also lists security software and backup or recovery software among the additional procurement classifications.

For suppliers, the procurement illustrates how public-sector technology requirements can combine ongoing service delivery with specialist security capabilities and associated products. The scope is broader than a standalone software purchase: the title refers to management services and the supply of products and solutions over 36 months.

The notice specifically names services related to cybersecurity and references Law 90/2024 in several quality criteria. It also includes backup and restore, security information and event management (SIEM), and privileged access management (PAM) among the evaluation descriptions. The notice does not provide technical specifications for these components, so the precise implementation requirements cannot be established from the award notice alone.

Contract Timeline

The published notice provides the following key dates:

• 24 July 2026: Exprivia was selected as the winner.
• 7 October 2026: The contract was concluded.
• 20 October 2026: The award notice was dispatched for publication.
• 22 October 2026: The result notice was published in OJ S 205/2026.

The award notice identifies the contract by identifier 38403. It does not state the date on which service delivery began. Although the procurement title specifies a duration of 36 months, the notice does not provide a detailed delivery schedule or implementation milestones. Suppliers reviewing the procurement history should therefore distinguish the stated contract duration from any operational start date that may be set out in the contract documents.

Contract Overview

The procurement is titled “S25015_PROCEDURA APERTA PER L'AFFIDAMENTO DELLA GESTIONE DEI SERVIZI DI IT ADMINISTRATOR E MANAGEMENT, INTEROPERABILITA' E CYBERSECURITY E RELATIVA FORNITURA DI PRODOTTI E SOLUZIONI DELLA DURATA DI 36 (TRENTASEI) MESI.” In English, the title describes an open procedure to award IT administrator and management services, interoperability and cybersecurity services, together with related products and solutions, for 36 months.

The contract's main CPV code is 72253000, covering helpdesk and support services. Additional classifications include 72300000 for data services, 72600000 for computer support and consultancy services, 72250000 for system and support services, 48730000 for security software packages and 48710000 for backup or recovery software packages.

The place of performance is Bari, in the province of Bari, Italy. The notice identifies one lot, LOT-0001, with an estimated value of €8,065,209.60 excluding VAT. It states that the procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and is not financed by European Union funds. No framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system is used.

Key Contract Details

Project Scope

The notice describes a combination of IT administration and management, interoperability and cybersecurity services, together with the supply of associated products and solutions. Its CPV classifications indicate the broad service and technology areas covered, but the result notice does not reproduce the full technical specification.

The quality criteria give a more detailed indication of the capabilities considered during evaluation. These include operational management and specialist support, maintenance services, interoperability, cybersecurity services and backup and restore systems. The criteria also refer to SIEM and PAM, as well as professional certifications in Microsoft, Linux, VMware, database administration, ITIL, cloud and ISO standards.

Several criteria concern additional IMAC activities. In this context, IMAC refers to installation, move, add and change work. The notice names additional annual IMAC activities for workstations, mobile devices, ICT server infrastructure and data centres, wireless local network devices and Bari Wireless. It does not provide the underlying quantities or technical service levels.

One quality criterion refers to maintenance services under Law 90/2024. The notice directs readers to the tender rules for the details of these requirements. The award notice should therefore be treated as an overview of the procurement, rather than a substitute for the original specifications and contractual conditions.

About the Contracting Authority

The buyer is Comune di Bari - Ripartizione Stazione Unica Appaltante, Contratti e Gestione Lavori Pubblici, a local authority procurement division of the Municipality of Bari. The notice lists its address as Via Garruba n. 51, 70122 Bari, Italy.

The authority's recorded activity is general public services. It is responsible for providing additional information about the procurement procedure and the review process, as well as acting as the buyer. The notice lists the official website and buyer profile as www.comune.bari.it.

Procurement correspondence details in the notice are email contrattiappalti.comunebari@pec.rupar.puglia.it and telephone 080 577 5011. The notice identifies the authority's registration number as 80015010723. These details are reproduced from the published procurement record.

About the Organisations Involved

Exprivia S.p.A. is the successful tenderer and the organisation named as the winner of LOT-0001. The notice classifies it as a large economic operator. Its registered address is Via A. Olivetti, Zona Industriale n. 11, 70056 Molfetta, in the province of Bari, Italy. The recorded registration number is 08825020723, and the notice lists www.exprivia.it as its website.

Exprivia's tender identifier is 4, and the reported tender value is €1,731,240. The notice states that subcontracting is indicated, but does not identify the subcontracted work, value or percentage. It would therefore be premature to draw conclusions about which parts of the service may be delivered by other organisations.

Comune di Bari is the contracting authority. TAR PUGLIA Sez. di Bari is named as the review organisation. Its listed address is Piazza Massari n. 6/14, 70100 Bari, Italy, and the notice provides the email tarba-segrprotocolloamm@ga-cert.it and telephone 080 573 3111. The award notice does not name any other supplier as a winner for this lot.

Procurement Analysis

The result records four tenders received, with Exprivia selected on 24 July 2026. This establishes that the procedure attracted more than one bid, although the notice does not provide the identities of the unsuccessful tenderers or a comparative score for each submission.

The estimated value of €8,065,209.60 excluding VAT is substantially higher than the awarded tender value of €1,731,240. The figures are both stated in the notice, but it does not explain the difference. The available information is insufficient to determine whether the estimate included optional activities, broader anticipated requirements or other cost components not reflected in the awarded value. Readers should not assume a specific explanation without consulting the tender documents.

The award criteria are described as quality criteria with a separate price criterion identified as “OFFERTA ECONOMICA” and assigned a weight of 30. The quality descriptions cover a broad range of service, security, maintenance, certification and additional IMAC considerations. The notice refers repeatedly to the tender rules for the full details.

An editorial check is warranted: the visible numerical weights listed in the notice appear to total 88 when the decimal commas are interpreted as decimal values. As the notice labels the weight category as an exact percentage, this apparent shortfall should be checked against the full procurement documents before publishing any definitive account of the complete scoring model. The award notice does not provide a final score for Exprivia.

Additional Procurement Facts

The procurement was conducted under Directive 2014/24/EU and used an open procedure. The notice states that the procedure was not accelerated. The contract is classified primarily as a service, even though the title also includes the supply of products and solutions.

The contract is not financed by EU funds, according to the published result. The Government Procurement Agreement coverage field is marked “yes.” The notice also records that the procurement does not use a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system.

The stated maximum number of renewals is zero. The procedure title specifies a 36-month duration, but the award notice does not set out a detailed schedule for individual service components. An options field refers readers to Article 4.3 of the tender rules, without describing the options in the result notice itself.

The notice identifies a 30-day period from communication of the award for challenging the award before the administrative court, referring to Italian Legislative Decree 36/2023 and the cited administrative procedure legislation. This is the information recorded in the notice, not independent legal advice. Interested parties should consult the applicable official documents for the precise deadlines and procedures relevant to their circumstances.

Market and Industry Perspective

The procurement spans several areas of public-sector IT delivery. Helpdesk and support services form the main classification, while the additional codes cover data services, computer support and consultancy, system support, security software and backup or recovery software. This combination suggests a requirement that brings service operations and technology security into the same procurement.

The listed evaluation areas also point to a range of supplier capabilities that may be relevant to similar public contracts. These include the ability to manage IT environments, provide specialist support, maintain systems, support interoperability and address security-related requirements. Professional certifications are explicitly referenced in the award criteria, including certifications associated with Microsoft, Linux, VMware, database administration, ITIL, cloud and ISO standards.

The notice does not establish that these requirements are representative of every Italian local authority procurement. However, it offers suppliers a specific example of how a local public body has described and evaluated a multi-area IT services requirement.

Economic Significance

The reported award value is €1,731,240 for a contract whose title specifies a 36-month period. The notice does not provide an annual payment schedule, detailed cost breakdown or allocation of the award value across individual service areas. Any annualised calculation would therefore be an approximation rather than a published contractual figure.

For the contracting authority, the procurement consolidates a range of IT management and security-related requirements within one award. For the supplier, the contract represents a public-sector service engagement in Bari. The published notice does not quantify employment effects, local economic benefits, productivity gains or expected savings, so these outcomes cannot be stated as established results.

The difference between the estimated and awarded values is relevant to procurement analysis. It should be treated as a point requiring context from the underlying documents rather than as proof of savings, a reduction in scope or a particular bidding strategy.

Future Procurement Opportunities

The award is a completed procurement result, not an open invitation to submit bids for this contract. Suppliers interested in related work can nevertheless use the notice to understand the types of services that may appear in public-sector IT requirements, including support and consultancy, interoperability, cybersecurity, backup and recovery and system management.

The notice does not identify a planned follow-on tender, extension, renewal or future procurement date. It states a maximum of zero renewals and a 36-month period in the procedure title. Businesses should not infer that a new tender will automatically be issued at the end of the contract.

Suppliers can monitor new public procurement notices through Italytenders's tender listings and review completed procurement outcomes through its contract awards section. These resources can help businesses track notices relevant to their service lines and markets.

Opportunities for Suppliers

IT service providers can use this award as a reference point when assessing their readiness for similar public-sector contracts. The published criteria indicate that the buyer considered more than the price offer. Quality-related areas included service organisation, operational support, maintenance, cybersecurity, backup and restore, interoperability and professional certifications.

Businesses preparing for comparable procurements should examine the technical specifications, mandatory requirements, scoring method and evidence requested in the tender documents. Where certifications are listed as evaluation criteria, suppliers should confirm which credentials are relevant, how they must be evidenced and whether the documents require them from the prime contractor or permit other arrangements.

Specialist suppliers may also wish to assess whether their capabilities fit within broader IT services contracts as subcontractors or partners. In this case, the award notice records subcontracting but gives no further details. Any potential role would depend on the contractual conditions and the arrangements made by the winning supplier.

Companies can register with Italytenders to follow procurement opportunities and use the platform's listings to identify relevant notices. Existing users can log in to their accounts.

What Businesses Should Watch

Businesses analysing the Bari award should keep several details in view. First, the estimated value and award value differ significantly, and the notice does not explain the difference. Second, the listed evaluation weights should be checked against the original tender rules because the visible figures appear not to add up to 100%.

Third, the published result identifies four tenders but does not disclose the unsuccessful bidders or the detailed evaluation results. Fourth, subcontracting is recorded without a disclosed value or percentage. These omissions limit what can be concluded about the competitive landscape, the supplier delivery model and the distribution of contract value.

Finally, the 36-month duration appears in the procurement title, while the result notice gives the contract conclusion date as 7 October 2026. The notice does not specify the service commencement date or a detailed schedule. Suppliers should consult the contract documentation before using the award as a benchmark for delivery timelines or commercial planning.

Italytenders Procurement Intelligence

The Bari award illustrates the value of reading an award notice alongside its procurement classifications and evaluation criteria. A headline award value provides only one part of the picture. The estimated value, number of tenders, duration, CPV codes, technical evaluation areas and subcontracting field add context for suppliers tracking public-sector technology expenditure.

For procurement intelligence purposes, the notice identifies a local authority requirement spanning IT support, system management, data services, cybersecurity and backup or recovery software. The detailed criteria also reference SIEM, PAM, professional certifications and additional IMAC activities. These terms can help suppliers recognise related opportunities in future tender notices, while the CPV classifications can support structured monitoring of relevant categories.

The record also demonstrates why data validation matters. The difference between estimated and awarded values should not automatically be presented as savings, and the listed scoring weights should not be treated as a complete 100% model without checking the original tender rules. Italytenders users can compare this result with other published notices through the contract awards database and follow new requirements through the tender listings.

Supplier Takeaways

• Track the relevant categories: The main CPV is 72253000, with additional codes covering data services, computer support and consultancy, system support, security software and backup or recovery software.
• Prepare evidence of technical capability: The criteria refer to service delivery, maintenance, cybersecurity, interoperability, backup and restore, and professional certifications.
• Review the complete scoring method: The published notice refers to the tender rules for further details and the visible weights appear to total less than 100%.
• Interpret the values carefully: The estimate is €8,065,209.60 excluding VAT and the reported award is €1,731,240. The notice does not explain the difference.
• Do not treat this as an open tender: Exprivia has already been selected and the contract was concluded on 7 October 2026.
• Monitor related notices: Use procurement listings and contract award records to identify comparable requirements and understand how public buyers describe their needs.

Key Takeaways

• The Municipality of Bari awarded the IT services contract to Exprivia S.p.A.
• The reported contract value is €1,731,240, against an estimated value of €8,065,209.60 excluding VAT.
• The procurement covers IT administration and management, interoperability, cybersecurity and associated products and solutions over a stated 36-month period.
• Four tenders were received under an open procedure governed by Directive 2014/24/EU.
• The published evaluation criteria include service quality, security, maintenance, backup and restore, certifications and price.
• The notice records subcontracting but does not disclose the value or percentage.
• The apparent scoring-weight shortfall and the difference between estimated and awarded values require cautious interpretation.

Conclusion

The award of the €1.731 million contract to Exprivia S.p.A. gives the Municipality of Bari a supplier for IT administration and management, interoperability, cybersecurity and related technology products and solutions. The result notice records four tenders and a contract conclusion date of 7 October 2026, with a 36-month duration specified in the procurement title.

For suppliers, the procurement offers a useful view of the technical areas and professional credentials considered in a local authority IT services competition. However, the notice does not explain the gap between estimated and awarded values and the visible award weights appear incomplete. Those points should be checked against the original tender documentation before drawing firm conclusions about the procurement's economics or scoring model.

Businesses seeking similar opportunities can continue monitoring Italytenders tender listings and published contract awards to follow public procurement activity across relevant IT and cybersecurity categories.

Source

Official TED contract or concession award notice, reference 731175-2026, “Italy – Helpdesk and support services – S25015” published in OJ S 205/2026 on 22 October 2026.

TED source: https://ted.europa.eu/en/notice/-/detail/731175-2026

Contracting authority website: http://www.comune.bari.it