Government Cloud (G-Cloud) is a UK Government initiative to ease procurement of cloud services by government departments and promote Government-wide adoption of cloud computing.
It has come a long way in a relatively brief period, helping many businesses to transform their IT networks and infrastructure.
There’s no doubt that G-Cloud has come of age over the past few years, constantly evolving and transforming the way that organisations operate their business.
But, what exactly has the G-Cloud changed?
Increased speeds
Using G-Cloud takes less time than traditional procurement. Having your records stored electronically makes it easier to submit reusable tenders. Meanwhile, use of templates means paperwork can be filled out more quickly.
G-Cloud has also allowed buyers to align with the evolving requirements of their sector.
For example, by the time the tech sector had managed to procure a piece of technology the contract for it had ended, and the tech sector had managed to produce a piece of technology, it was already out of date.
Making things simpler
Traditionally, Government IT procurement favoured large and complex ICT programmes and inflexible contracts. Now, after the introduction of the G-Cloud the public sector is finally moving into the future, reducing costs, increasing operational flexibility and simplifying ITC management.
Fairer and more transparent, especially for SMEs
The G-Cloud has created a more transparent procurement system, especially for SME’s. The new G-Cloud framework has a number of features to promote innovation and make it more accessible to SMEs, such as open procedures with no lengthy pre-qualification questionnaire, less stringent requirements of financial history, simplified mandatory questions and specifications, and provision of services on standard terms.
It’s replaced traditional public procurement
The G-Cloud has replaced the traditional way of public procurement, which is done through individual contracts. It has made procurement cheaper and faster, helping suppliers of all sizes and capacities the chance to win Government business.
It’s created a level playing field to compare suppliers & solutions
The use of templates ensures pricing and solution templates are standard across all suppliers meaning it’s easy to compare suppliers over marketplace categories. Pricing is also transparent and provided up front.
G-Cloud uses the “Skills Framework for the Information Age” (SFIA) providing a clear understanding of standardised, levelled ICT skills so that like for like comparisons can be made.
Conclusion
The cloud has become an indispensable tool for businesses looking to gain an edge over their competitors.
The cloud is also a great leveller, enabling SMEs to compete on the same level as larger enterprises, so regardless of how big your business is, it’s likely that you will benefit from the adoption of cloud in some form or other.
Spectrum’s range of cloud solutions can give you access to the latest technologies at a fraction of the price of physical IT infrastructure.
We can enable you to consolidate multiple suppliers into a single, easy-to-use interface, so you can keep full control of your IT.
Interested? Get in touch today.
