Crown SME Rep Takes On New G-Cloud Push Role

In a bid to try and get more traction back into the sluggish Digital Marketplace, SME champion Stephen Allott has been moved into a new role.

Allott, who worked as the small business Crown Representative in the Cabinet Office for four years, has been transferred to lead the drive to raise interest in the cloud procurement framework, which has been accused of a worrying lack of take up by mandarins.

The Marketplace, which replaced the older CloudStore, may need Allott's help, as it still seems to be being ignored - especially when it comes to new entrants into the public sector ICT supply chain.

Knows Something Needs To Be Done?

The outgoing Coalition government hada target of channelling 25% per cent of its £45bn procurement spend with SMEs by 2015, but latest figures suggest that's only more like 10% - though to be fair to G-Cloud, about 50% of spend there, or just over £300m, has been with such entities.

The government knows it has to do something, publishing a set of action plans in March, and this appointment does seem to be part of a sincere desire to not let G-Cloud wither on the vine.

All eyes are now on the seventh iteration of G-Cloud, which is due in the Autumn - a key test to see if more public sector buyers really are comfortable with this form of procuring ICT goods and services.

(c) 2015 24n.biz