G-Cloud Providers Call For Immediate Removal Of Co-Location Services

G-Cloud providers have expressed fresh complaints about the fifth version of the service by complaining that certain co-location services are still on the CloudStore despite being banned.

An anonymous company criticised the Cabinet Office for not ridding the online store of the services even though the new tender document for G Cloud 5, which was released two weeks ago, expressly states that such services are banned.

“I’m happy to comply with the new rules, but it’s disappointing to see our competitors still being listed when we’re not allowed to get our own services included, particularly as we were told they would be removed,” the anonymous source told CloudPro.

The Cabinet Office introduced the new rules in order to eliminate a number of providers that are using the CloudStore to offer services that don’t comply with the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s [NIST] definition of what a cloud-based service is.

Other non-cloud related services that relate to consultancy and software development have also been banned from G-Cloud 5 but it is the decision to rule out co-location services that has been most controversial as they were previously permitted in the store.

“It is being rectified. So, I assumed it was just an oversight, as there were hundreds on there [previously] and now there are just a few,” admitted another provider. “To give them [the Cabinet Office] their due, they did have the small matter of having to re-launch and update Cloudstore after G-Cloud 5 went live. So, maybe a few slipped through.”

The Cabinet Office backed this up by confirming to CloudPro that it is currently in the process of removing services and then contacting suppliers to inform them the product offered cannot be listed on the CloudStore.

G-Cloud, which was originally launched back in 2012, has seen sales eclipse £175 million in total with small and medium sized businesses accounting for a large number of sales.