G-Cloud Services Players Cry Foul Over Proposed Changes

Companies offering The UK Government G-Cloud services criticised the new rules, set to be introduced next month, saying they’re adding unnecessary paperwork and bringing back “time-wasting procurement bureaucracy that G-Cloud aims to banish”.

According to multiple media reports, the new guidelines will introduce a cap on how much buyers acn scale their services to 20 per cent.

The Channel spoke to members of EuroCloud trade association, and they’re not pleased. The restriction means buyers cannot increase the value of the original contract by more than one-fifth without re-procuring from the cloudy framework.

Neil Bacon, a member of EuroCloud’s G-Cloud working group, said the introduction of a 20 per cent cap by the Crown Commercial Service, was bringing back “time-wasting procurement bureaucracy that G-Cloud aims to banish”.

Phil Wainewright, chair of EuroCloud, added: “There is no reason for setting an arbitrary 20 per cent limit typical of old fashioned procurement thinking.

He added: “This isn’t just a few awkward people making comments – there is a substantial number of suppliers who got together and said we need to be careful don’t see old habits creeping back.”

“We’ve not heard any sensible justification for this. We suspect it is just people who have not thought it through. As G-Cloud becomes more mainstream, other people not attuned to founding principles of the core team.”

It is being said that some £806m million was channelled through G-Cloud since its birth in April 2012. But the vast majority of that spend remains on consultancy service, The Channel reminds.