CloudStore Ups Sales, Gets Ready For Morph To 'The Digital Marketplace'

The Cabinet Office has released the latest G-Cloud CloudStore sales data, which show that public sector buyers have now bought £271m worth of ICT goods and services through this portal.

The idea was always to try and open up the market to more than the 'oligopoly' of dominant ICT giants, an aim that is claimed to be being slowly reached: according to this data, 54% of all sales so far by value (and 61% by volume) are said to have been won by smaller ICT suppliers.

The vast bulk (79%) of sales continue to be by Whitehall, though - with only 21% going to the wider public sector.

Last time the government revealed sales, in May, the figure stood at £175m accumulative since its 2012 launch.

Preferred Route

Meantime, the CloudStore is going sooner than envisaged, according to the Government Digital Service - which is moving up the Digital Marketplace to replace it sooner than originally planned.

In a blog on the team's site in May, the latter was held to be "reaching a stage which allows us to consider making it the route for G-Cloud purchases."

As a result, a staged approach to the Marketplace's debut is being planned, though "we will be making sure there is a 4-week transition period during which people will be able to choose whether they buy through CloudStore or Digital Marketplace."

The new possible Digital Marketplace launch is therefore imminent - it should be this week (end of September); we'll keep you posted.

(c) 24n.biz