G-Cloud Supplier Calls For More Stability

A supplier on the G-Cloud procurement framework has claimed that constant changes to the network are behind local government’s lack of interest in using the procurement process.

Peter Groucutt, managing director of cloud SME Databarracks, is a frequent commentator on G-Cloud issues.

“Local government departments are finding themselves in an increasingly difficult position when it comes to managing their IT infrastructure,” claimed Groucutt.

“They’re constantly being told to ‘buy more from SMEs’ and to go ‘cloud first.’ At the same time, they are also trying to keep up with the new G-Cloud initiatives that are introduced every six months.

“Keeping pace is understandably challenging,” he added.

Groucutt’s commentary follows last week’s announcement that the way security accreditation works on the procurement framework is changing.

G-Cloud “Forever Changing”

G-Cloud has also recently been in the news after a report claimed local authorities across the country were “wasting millions” by not using the network – however, many disagreed with this, including the representative body for public sector IT professionals Socitm.

According to Groucutt, the low engagement figures for the wider public sector using the G-Cloud are a result of a lack of stability.

“We’ve gone from being controlled by the Government Procurement Service (GPS) (now the Crown Commercial Service) to the Government Digital Service (GDS) and now we’re swapping the CloudStore for the Digital Marketplace – not to mention the changes to the security classification,” the MD claimed.

However, Groucutt says that 80% of G-Cloud spending coming from central government is not a surprising fact.

He claims that this group is easier to target and educate, but this message now needs spreading to local government.

© 24N.biz