Slachtofferhulp Nederland, an organisation with a total of 24 branches in the Netherlands, had a long-term contract with an IT service provider. When that contract expired in 2022, an obligation arose to tender these services. The tender was awarded to Open Line, initially for four years with a possible extension for an identical period.

“The IT landscape is more complex than you would expect for an organisation of our size”, John Tomatala, Head of the ICT department and also CISO at Slachtofferhulp Nederland (Victim Support Netherlands) explains. For instance, the organisation not only has a large number of branches, but there are also other factors. 

Slachtofferhulp Nederland works with confidential data. Tomatala: “We expressly guard against what we call secondary victimisation. Anyone who turns to us has already been victimised, and should not have to deal additionally with ransomware or a privacy hack.” 

There was also the desire for further digitalisation, including in contact with victims. “COVID-19 clearly demonstrated that digital contact, by video for instance, can actually work quite well. We want to expand on that, but in a secure manner.” 

Market consultation 

As part of the tender, a Competitive Negotiated Procedure (CNP) was opted for. That procedure first consisted of a market consultation. “We indicated very clearly what we were up against and asked how parties would tackled that issue.” Tomatala and his team received responses from twenty parties – including Open Line. “Overall, it became clear that the recommendations were always to focus mainly on interaction. Not only during an implementation and transition phase, but particularly during acceptance and follow-up.” 

The tender specifically addressed key infrastructure and ICT services for Slachtofferhulp Nederland, as well as management, security and helpdesk. In the starting situation, the organisation worked mainly on-premises in a data centre leased by Slachtofferhulp Nederland itself (so not via the service provider).

Well-prepared 

According to Tomatala, Open Line was well-prepared for the process and was familiar with the specific characteristics within an organisation like Slachtofferhulp Nederland. “Having worked for multiple parties in this market, we have experience with organisations that have on-going contact with clients who rely on secure care and reliable contact”, says David Aupers Commercial Director at Open Line. “It is no coincidence that customer intimacy is one of our core values. Although a collaboration like this involves managed services provided remotely, it is vital that personal contact is set up correctly. For example, we have a dedicated client team for Slachtofferhulp Nederland that can always step in and assist.” 

The biggest change for Slachtofferhulp Nederland involves the further adoption of cloud services. Aupers: “We would like to emphasise that all personal data of victims are located in Open Line’s own data centre, in a private cloud.”