Report Challenges View That Local Authorities Are Not Embracing G-Cloud

Since G-Cloud was launched, the government has been criticised for not encouraging enough local authorities to use the framework, however new research suggests this is not the case.  

Business development consultancy DeNove has analysed G-Cloud sales figures to determine that local government uptake of cloud services via the framework is not as slow as the press would have people believe.   

“There have been a number of disparaging articles in the trade press over the last two years reporting the slow uptake of G-Cloud services by the local authority market,” the company claimed.   

“This has steadily reinforced the impression that with the exception of a few G-Cloud pioneers such as Bristol, Windsor and Newham, UK local authorities are not interested in buying G-Cloud services,” it adds.   

The firm’s report, Selling G-Cloud Services to Local Authorities – the next big opportunity, claims that local authority penetration of G-Cloud is now quite high, with over 34% of local government bodies in the UK having now used the framework.   

Furthermore, 30% of councils have purchased services from two or more lots – however, the penetration is still shallow as the cumulative spend per local authority is only £241,000 when G-Cloud pioneers such as Newham and Bristol are not taken into account.   

“We work with almost 50 different ICT providers in the UK, four of our SME clients are in the Top 30 revenue earners on G-Cloud and our feedback and experience from the coalface does not really chime with the media reports we are seeing,” claims the document.   

Free Advice For G-Cloud Suppliers 

As a result of its research, DeNove has compiled advice for G-Cloud suppliers on how they can attract more business via the framework.   

The firm believes planning is essential to optimising sales – it is not enough to simply list a business on G-Cloud, there must be a clear sales and marketing plan behind it.   

When it comes to selling to the local government market specifically, DeNove says it is important to take into account that there are three types of local authorities to sell to: those which have already used G-Cloud for a variety of services, those which have only used the Specialist Cloud Services Lot and those which haven’t used the framework at all.   

Updated Sales Figures  

Since the DeNove report was published, the Government Digital Service (GDS) has published the G-Cloud sales data for June 2015, which suggests that local authority penetration is now at 36%.   

"The latest June G-Cloud data proves that over 36% of all UK local authorities are buying G-Cloud services," said Roger Newman, a member of management at the company.   

"These figures clearly demonstrate that the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) outreach programme and suppliers perseverance is starting to pay off and I expect ot see more adoption in the second half of 2015," he added.