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G-Cloud programme to reveal 250 successful suppliers

7th February 2012

The UK Government is expected to announce around 250 successful suppliers for its cloud computing procurement initiative, G-Cloud, a source close to the process has told Business Cloud News. An official announcement on winning bids is expected to be provided by Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, on 13th February, next Monday.

Despite over 600 companies bidding for involvement in the process, it can be revealed that less than half were successful in fulfilling the process’s stringent criteria.

The framework will be divided into four ‘lots’, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) and Specialist Cloud Services, with SaaS and Specialist Cloud Services revealing the highest successful number of bids – around 150 for each (suppliers were able to put together multiple service bids).

Successful service providers have already been informed of their inclusion in the framework, but have been asked to withhold acknowledgement until next Monday, when the Cabinet Office will make an official announcement in conjunction with G-Cloud’s expected savings, agility and benefits.

The £60m framework will then make moves to push those suppliers onto the Government’s ‘CloudStore’, an e-marketplace where supplier services will be detailed and rated for future procurement by public sector departments.

Despite the announcement about successful suppliers being kept on hold, the Government has already declared its intent to open up a secondary procurement process, within months.

First revealed by Guardian Government Computing, the G-Cloud CloudStore has recently posted on its website, stating:

"If you missed out on the last round and want to submit your own company's cloud-based services to be on the government CloudStore, then fear not. We are planning to re-open the framework for new suppliers and products in the next couple of months."

Whether this is related to the number of suppliers eligible for selection in the first round is yet unknown. However, with some UK suppliers declaring their interest across multiple services and the G-Cloud initiative aiming to provide a level playing field for procurement, it is very probable that future rounds will take place at regular intervals, giving suppliers maximum opportunity for involvement.

The CloudStore is also expected to become active as of next week, with a posting on the site stating:

“We’re currently testing that what we’ve done makes sense and works and then we’ll be opening the store up for everyone to see, use and feedback on but before we can do that we need to get on with working through and assuring the 1700 services for the catalogue.”

Tags: public sector cloud