We are proud to announce that Avit has won the tender for "Network as a Service" (NaaS) from the municipality of Nijkerk. The agreement has an initial term of four years (2024 to 2028), with three options for extension of two years each, making the maximum contract term ten years (2024 to 2034). The operational Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) service started on July 1, 2024, with an initial term from that date.
The relocation and modernization of the municipality of Nijkerk
The Municipality of Nijkerk, with approximately 45,000 residents, has undergone a relocation in recent months. The new location is a modern town hall at Van 't Hoffstraat 24 in Nijkerk, where the Rabobank office used to be. The realization of a completely new ICT network started in June, which was successfully put into use on August 5, with the opening of the town hall.
The move offered the Municipality of Nijkerk a unique opportunity to modernize and future-proof its ICT infrastructure. ICT is not a core business of the municipality and qualified ICT personnel are becoming increasingly scarce. Therefore, the municipality decided to purchase its network as a service instead of building and managing it itself.
The objectives of this tender were ambitious and long-term oriented:
- Modern, future-proof ICT network: A network that matches the expected use of the municipality's ICT infrastructure over the next four to ten years.
- Professionalization of management and maintenance: Due to increasing dynamics in technology and needs, we have placed the management and maintenance in the hands of a specialized party whose core business it is, under professional ownership of our own skilled employees.
- Continuity: Continuous access to a high quality, up-to-date and secure network that optimally supports the service and protects the data of residents.
- Cost control: Network services must be market-based or more favorable and move with market trends.
Unique features of the NaaS approach
Choosing NaaS is a strategic move. As opposed to traditional IT procurement, where Avit would only be responsible for delivering, and possibly implementing, but the municipality would manage it in-house, NaaS offers a subscription model. This gives the municipality the flexibility to easily adjust network capacity as needed, without large upfront investments. Moreover, customers with NaaS contracts can benefit from technical renewals during the term, keeping the network up-to-date with the latest developments.
A smart and modern city hall
Nijkerk's new town hall is more than a workplace; it is a smart building. The network provided by Avit enables various application integration possibilities such as streaming (council) meetings, making appointments, reserving rooms, digital presentations, video conferencing, and a guest network Wi-Fi for visitors. This contributes to more efficient services and a better experience for both employees and residents.
Robert van Zanten, Director at Avit Netherlands: "Winning this tender is an important milestone for Avit. With this win, we take an important step towards a future-proof and efficient ICT infrastructure for the municipality of Nijkerk, and we look forward to making this project a success."
Marcel Spanjersberg, Consultant and Coordinator Informatisering at municipality Nijkerk:
"With Avit and their Network as a Service solution, we are taking an important step towards a modern, future-proof and secure ICT infrastructure."
Mark Nessen, Policy Advisor Information Technology at Nijkerk Municipality:
"This partnership allows us to enhance our digital services and flexibly respond to future needs."
