Public sector to procure open-source platform operations and UX support
A new contract to run and enhance open-source tools for government highlights how European authorities are tying security, usability and branding together.
A new contract to run and enhance open-source tools for government highlights how European authorities are tying security, usability and branding together.
Follow Tenderlake on LinkedIn for concise insights on public-sector tenders and emerging procurement signals.
In December 2025, the Centre for Digital Sovereignty of Public Administration GmbH (ZenDiS) launched a contract to operate and further develop its open-source products, combining secure infrastructure, user experience, visual branding and project management support. The package brings together technical and design work that underpins how digital tools are delivered inside public administration.
Published on 19th December 2025, the ZenDiS Products Development and Operation notice sets out a clear aim: to secure services for the operation and further development of open-source products that support public administration.
The contract hinges on five linked areas:
By grouping these into a single procurement, ZenDiS is treating its products less as isolated IT projects and more as a portfolio that needs coherent technical, design and organisational stewardship. Open-source is central: the notice is explicit that the services target open-source products rather than proprietary platforms.
This focus puts ZenDiS alongside a growing set of public bodies that are not just buying software, but buying long-term capability to run and evolve critical digital systems. In July 2025, for example, the Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility (Bundesamt für Logistik und Mobilität, BALM) sought services for the Support for Central Information System, covering “further development, support, and maintenance” of its core information platform. The ZenDiS notice follows a similar pattern, but extends it into design and branding.
Although the ZenDiS notice is concise, it points to a broad remit for the future supplier or suppliers.
Operations and secure infrastructure. The contract seeks services for day-to-day operation of ZenDiS products, underpinned by secure IT infrastructure. That implies responsibility not only for hosting and technical availability, but also for ensuring that infrastructure is managed with security as a core requirement.
Across other recent procurements, security and operations are being closely intertwined. On 27th June 2025, Serviciul de Telecomunicatii Speciale issued a notice for Cybersecurity Software for Emergency Services, covering vulnerability management, data flow monitoring, web application assessment and secure remote access for the 112 emergency service. In November 2025, ekom21 – Kommunales Gebietsrechenzentrum Hessen sought a framework agreement for Information Security Services including consulting, eLearning, phishing simulations and managed services. ZenDiS’s emphasis on secure infrastructure sits squarely within this wider move to embed cybersecurity into the everyday running of public systems.
Further development and UX. ZenDiS is not only looking to keep existing products running; it also wants “further development” with a specific focus on user experience. That places iterative improvement and user-centred design at the heart of the work, rather than treating UX as an add-on.
Similar expectations are surfacing in other sectors. DAK-Gesundheit’s November 2025 notice for Software Development Services for DAK-Gesundheit splits work into lots for app development, web development, UX/UI design, secure cloud solutions and data science. Here too, UX and technical development are treated as parallel streams of specialist work.
Visual branding as a product concern. The explicit reference to “visual branding” shows that ZenDiS sees the look and feel of its products as an integral part of the procurement. That links product operation with design consistency and recognisability across services.
Visual coherence is also emerging as a strategic theme in other public digital contracts. On 25th November 2025, Informationstechnikzentrum Bund (ITZBund) went to market for External Support for DESYBRI, a design system where UX/UI conception, software development and consulting services are bundled, alongside procurement of Figma licences. ZenDiS’s inclusion of visual branding points in a similar direction: shared design assets are part of core infrastructure.
Project management support. Finally, ZenDiS is seeking project management support as part of the same contract. That acknowledges the complexity of coordinating open-source development, infrastructure changes, UX design and branding work across multiple stakeholders in public administration.
Other buyers are building in comparable organisational support. The Zentraler IT-Dienstleister der Justiz des Landes Brandenburg, for instance, is procuring Consulting Services for ZenIT that span strategic consulting, innovation project implementation, development services, business continuity management, IT service management, and technology and architecture consulting. ZenDiS’s requirement for project management support reflects the same recognition that governance and coordination are critical to digital change.
ZenDiS’s open-source remit lands in a landscape where public bodies are increasingly investing in shared digital building blocks: design systems, portals, collaboration tools and accessibility platforms.
On 31st October 2025, Digitální informační agentura published a notice for the Management of gov.cz Design System. The contract covers management, development and operations of the national design system, with continuous service provision, infrastructure operation and adherence to accessibility standards written into the scope. That notice, like ZenDiS’s, treats design and infrastructure as a single operational concern.
In July 2025, iGovPortal.ch issued a call for NextGen iGovPortal Development Services, seeking redevelopment, maintenance and support for a key portal. The lots cover KeyCloak integration, backend and frontend development, testing and Azure DevOps implementation. Here again, operational tooling and software engineering are bundled into a long-term partnership.
Digital accessibility is another thread. On 18th December 2025, DVZ Datenverarbeitungszentrum Mecklenburg-Vorpommern GmbH launched framework agreements for IT Services Framework Agreements on digital accessibility and electronic file solutions. The goal is to support upcoming IT projects and address personnel shortages, with accessibility built in from the outset. That chimes with the accessibility obligations in the gov.cz design system contract and underlines why ZenDiS’s focus on UX is more than cosmetic.
Open-source collaboration is also gaining ground beyond ZenDiS. On 22nd December 2025, govdigital eG advertised a File Hosting and Collaboration Solution for schools: a SaaS-based file storage and collaboration system built on open-source technology, with integrated file management, collaborative tools and personal information management. ZenDiS’s open-source products sit within this broader move to base core public-sector services on code that can be inspected, shared and adapted.
The ZenDiS procurement also mirrors a wider digital transformation drive that touches education, healthcare, local government and research.
In July 2025, matrix GmbH & Co. KG issued a notice for an Integrated zdi Management Tool Development WebApp for the zdi.NRW initiative, combining system administration, data monitoring, AI analysis and user interface management, plus training and optional maintenance. In August 2025, Uniwersytet Medyczny w Lublinie tendered for a Low-Code Platform Delivery for E-Services, centred on an electronic document circulation system and employee training, funded through an EU project to modernise teaching facilities.
Local administrations are on a similar path. Gmina Koźmin Wielkopolski’s November 2025 notice on E-Public Services Development aims to modernise the municipality’s electronic public service system, including software delivery, implementation, training and compliance with environmental standards. On 4th November 2025, ORASUL TISMANA set out a package of Digitization Services and Training to modernise its administration, combining IT equipment, software licences and support services.
Healthcare is undergoing comparable upgrades. On 24th November 2025, Samodzielny Publiczny Zakład Opieki Zdrowotnej Szpital im. dr. J.Dietla w Krynicy-Zdroju launched a Hospital IT System Modernization project to integrate hospital domain systems with an Intelligent Services Platform, using AI to enhance diagnostic and therapeutic processes.
Against this backdrop, ZenDiS’s contract stands out for putting open source, secure infrastructure, UX, branding and programme management into one specification. Where many projects focus on a single portal or system, this notice points to a suite of products that will likely be used widely across public administration.
The ZenDiS procurement will be one to watch for suppliers working at the intersection of infrastructure, open-source development and design.
Potential bidders will need to show they can:
Across the notices published in 2025, a clear pattern is emerging: public-sector buyers are commissioning long-term service relationships that blend security, usability, branding and change management, rather than buying stand-alone software. ZenDiS’s open-source products contract is a concise but pointed example of that shift.
Follow Tenderlake on LinkedIn for concise insights on public-sector tenders and emerging procurement signals.