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IT procurement: how to avoid brand discrimination


The UK’s Office of Government Commerce (OGC) has issued brief guidance on how public sector agencies should word their procurement contracts to avoid breaching EU rules on non-discrimination that were passed last year.

Advert: Phishing conference, London, 27th October 2005Directives come into force at the end of January to modernise and simplify EU procurement procedures. Among other things, they require that public sector agencies do not discriminate by specifying particular brands or products in their tender documents. Agencies that do not comply could find themselves facing national or EU infringement proceedings.

According to the OGC guidance, agency requirements must now be detailed in a generic way, with references to a specific brand or product made in only exceptional circumstances and followed by the words “or equivalent”.

References to national standards implementing European standards are to be used in preference to pure national standards – unless there are no relevant European standards – and agencies must be prepared to look at offers satisfying the standards in an equivalent manner.

The single page of guidance specifically considers the area of computer hardware procurement, finding that generic terms such as “x86 processor” should be used in preference to brand references such as Intel or AMD.

The specifications should also exclude any reference to minimum processor clock speeds, but can refer to minimum scores resulting from independent benchmark tests if these are non-discriminatory, says the guidance.

“We fully support the UK initiative to bring more competition into technology procurement,” said Giuliano Meroni, corporate vice president, Sales and Marketing, for AMD Europe, Middle East and Africa. “The illegal use of either brand or specific product names reduces market competition, slows down the pace of innovation and may unnecessarily cost taxpayers money.”

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