Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) and Customer Communications Solution

1. Customer Communications Platform

• Campaign management
• Template and content management
• Communications deployment and scheduling
• Traffic management and throughput controls
• Reporting and analytics
• Customer profile management
• Preference management
• Customer-facing preference portals

1. Platform Integration

• APIs
• Event-driven integrations
• Webhooks
• Batch and file transfer interfaces
• Enterprise integration patterns

1. Security and Compliance

• Data residency and sovereignty
• Identity and access management
• Fraud prevention
• Auditability and assurance
• Accessibility compliance
• Data retention and deletion controls

1. Service Delivery

• Service management
• Performance management
• Testing environments
• Service transition
• Exit management
• Training and adoption support

1. Commercial Models

• Licensing models
• Service charging mechanisms
• Transactional charging models
• Pricing review mechanisms and value for money approaches

All requirements remain subject to change following market engagement findings.

Market Engagement Questions

HMRC may invite suppliers to provide information covering topics including:

1. Service and Market Capability

• Market positioning, scale and experience.
• Comparable public and private sector customers.
• Native and third-party channel support.
• Unified platform capabilities.
• Future channel roadmap.

1. Innovation and AI

• Innovation approaches.
• Continuous improvement models.
• AI capabilities.
• AI governance and assurance controls.

1. Customer Communications Management

• Template management.
• Personalisation.
• Journey orchestration.
• Rich content support.
• Engagement tracking and analytics.

1. Deployment and Throughput

• Traffic prioritisation.
• Throughput management.
• Burst capacity handling.
• Communication scheduling and suppression controls.

1. Data and Reporting

• Customer profile management.
• Contact history management.
• Reporting and analytics capabilities.
• Data lifecycle management.

1. Preference Management

• Subscription management.
• Customer preference portal capabilities.
• Authentication and customer identity controls.

1. Security and Accessibility

• Security certifications.
• Data protection controls.
• Fraud detection and prevention.
• Accessibility standards and testing approaches.

1. Transition and Commercial Models

• Migration methodologies.
• Service transition timescales.
• Exit planning.
• Pricing and charging models.
• Licensing approaches.

These topics are intended to inform HMRC's understanding of current market capability and future options and should not be interpreted as final requirements.

Participation

HMRC may engage suppliers through one or more of the following methods:

• Written responses.
• Supplier questionnaires.

HMRC will conduct engagement activities in a transparent and equitable manner and will ensure that no supplier receives an unfair advantage from participation.

Important Information

• This notice is issued solely for market engagement purposes.
• No procurement procedure has commenced.
• No contract will be awarded as a result of this market engagement.
• Participation is voluntary.
• Suppliers that do not participate will not be excluded from any future procurement.
• Any future procurement will be advertised separately through the appropriate procurement channels.