CPV 486 – Database and Operating System Software

What does CPV 486 cover?

CPV 486 covers software packages for database management and operating systems. This group encompasses relational database management systems (RDBMS), NoSQL and NewSQL databases, data warehouse and analytics platforms, enterprise server operating systems (Linux, Windows Server), client operating systems, virtualisation platforms and hypervisors, container orchestration software, as well as middleware and integration platforms that sit between the operating system and application layers.

In the context of public procurement, database and operating system software represents the technical foundation of all IT infrastructure and is typically procured through volume licence agreements or enterprise licence arrangements (ELA). Migrations to new operating system versions (e.g. Windows 10 to Windows 11) or database platform upgrades are major projects that require careful planning, compatibility testing and data migration. The shift from on-premises to cloud-hosted database and OS infrastructure is accelerating in the public sector.

Public IT service centres, data centres, federal and state agencies, hospitals and public utilities are the primary procurers. Open source operating systems and databases (Linux, PostgreSQL) are actively promoted in several German state administrations as alternatives to proprietary platforms, driven by cost and sovereignty considerations. Further information on the CPV system is available from the European Commission (SIMAP) and in Regulation (EC) No 213/2008.

Typical Software Categories in CPV 486

• Relational database management systems: enterprise RDBMS for transactional and analytical workloads
• Data warehouse and business intelligence platforms: ETL tools, OLAP, reporting engines
• Server operating systems: Linux distributions, Windows Server, specialist UNIX variants
• Client operating systems: enterprise desktop and laptop OS licences
• Virtualisation and hypervisor platforms: server and desktop virtualisation
• Container orchestration: Kubernetes distributions for public sector workloads
• Middleware and integration platforms: message brokers, ESB, API gateways

Examples of Tenders with CPV 486

• Database licence agreement for state IT service centre: A state IT service centre tenders a three-year enterprise licence agreement for an RDBMS for 45 production database servers, covering standard and enterprise editions, unlimited virtual machine deployment, annual support and update subscription and migration assistance from the current version.
• Operating system renewal for federal authority workstations: A federal agency awards a volume licence agreement for the client operating system for 6,500 workstations, covering perpetual licences, three-year software assurance, upgrade rights to new versions and integration with the existing Microsoft 365 subscription.
• Data warehouse platform for municipal statistics office: A municipal statistics authority tenders a new data warehouse and BI platform, covering ETL tooling for integration of 15 source systems, an OLAP reporting layer, self-service analytics for 200 users, predefined public statistics dashboards and a four-year SaaS subscription.

Current tenders with CPV 486 are published on TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) and on national procurement platforms.

Who is CPV 486 relevant for?

Public Contracting Authorities

State and federal IT service centres, public data centres, municipal IT authorities and hospital IT departments are the main procurers under CPV 486. They commission database and OS software in the context of licence renewal cycles, platform migrations and the introduction of new cloud-based infrastructure.

Companies and Bidders

Enterprise software vendors, open source support providers, IT infrastructure specialists and system integrators are the central bidders. In addition to licence terms and pricing, references from comparable public sector deployments, migration tooling, long-term support guarantees, GDPR-compliant data processing and – for open source solutions – commercial support and update services are key evaluation criteria.

Information on eligibility requirements and procurement procedures is provided by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).

How does Bond help with CPV 486?

Tender Match – Automatically Find Tenders (CPV 486)

With tender.match, database software vendors and OS licence specialists automatically receive all relevant tenders with CPV 486 directly in their dashboard. BOND indexes tenders from over 1,000 procurement portals in the EU – from TED to national platforms and regional contracting authorities. Instead of manually searching dozens of portals every day, matching database and OS software tenders are filtered and delivered by technology category, region, and company profile. An automated gap analysis immediately shows where the company meets the requirements and where gaps exist. This ensures companies never miss a deadline and can focus on preparing their bids.

Company Match – Find the Right Partners and Suppliers (CPV 486)

For companies looking for suppliers, subcontractors, or consortium partners for database and OS infrastructure projects, company.match provides direct access to qualified firms from an EU-wide database of over 28 million companies. Especially for large platform migration projects requiring combined licensing, migration and operational support capabilities, company.match automatically identifies suitable partners – increasing the chances of winning the contract.

Frequently Asked Questions about CPV 486

What does the CPV code 48600000 mean?

The CPV code 48600000 represents the group of database and operating system software in the European procurement classification system. It covers RDBMS, data warehouse platforms, server and client operating systems, virtualisation software and container orchestration platforms procured by public contracting authorities.

How do I find tenders with CPV 486?

Tenders with CPV 486 are published on TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) for EU-wide procedures. Bond automatically aggregates all relevant database and OS software tenders from over 1,000 portals and filters by technology type, deployment model and company profile.

What are the requirements for participating in tenders with CPV 486?

Bidders must comply with the procurement procedures set out in the VgV for EU-threshold contracts and the UVgO for sub-threshold contracts, and must provide licence terms, migration tooling documentation, long-term support evidence and comparable public sector deployment references.