UK plans observability tool contract in 2026 to keep scaled-up One Login resilient

The UK government is expecting a lot from its One Login system over the coming years, as it transitions from the platform for access to digital government services to the center of the planned national digital identity.

The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology has published notice of a contract opportunity coming up next year to provide an observability tool for GOV.UK One Login. The contract is expected to be worth 7.2 million pounds (approximately US$9.5 million) taxes included.

DSIT is seeking a tool that developers and support teams can use to investigate potential bugs and head off any problems with the digital ID system before they escalate. That means full-stack visibility into end-to-end user journeys with an intuitive interface and well-tuned alerts, the notice says. It will also take compatibility with serverless architecture  and open standards including OTEL and OCFF, as well as “secure UK-based hosting.” The observability tool should provide visibility into the service level indicators (SLIs) and service level objectives (SLOs) and errors that could impact them.

“This tool is an essential part of our Observability strategy, enabling One Login to meet critical reliability and security commitments and scale to higher volumes — all while maintaining a smooth and responsive experience for users,” DSIT says.

The contract will run from August 26, 2026 to August 25, 2029 with a possible extension to five years. DSIT estimates the tender announcement will fall on February 2.

The contract is particularly suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to bid on, according to the announcement.

One Login has been plagued with security and trust questions this year from its development process to lapsed DIATF certification. The public sector digital ID was originally slated for completion this year, but that is now anticipated in 2028.

Article Topics

cybersecurity  |  Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT)  |  digital government  |  digital identity  |  government purchasing  |  One Login  |  procurement  |  UK digital ID