Transparency Will Improve “Lacklustre” G-Cloud

Cloud industry group the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) has claimed the government’s G-Cloud lacks transparency -“the single ingredient that must underpin every procurement service,” in its view.

CIF CEO Alex Hilton made the comments in response to a Major Projects Authority (MPA) report that classified the framework as “amber/red” – meaning the successful delivery of the project is in doubt.

“Our latest research on the UK market indicates that cloud adoption rates in the public sector match those in the private sector, both standing at 69%, but this enthusiasm does not seem to have spread to local government, which simply hasn’t taken to G-Cloud as was predicted,” claimed Hilton.

A recent freedom of information (FOI) request by a vendor revealed that under 1% of the total local government IT spend was spent via the procurement framework, suggesting councils are not interested in the service.

G-Cloud Originally “Full Of Promise”

“From its inception, G-Cloud held a great deal of promise and we fundamentally support a consistent approach to cloud procurement by government,” said Hilton.

“The government’s stated aspiration is for 25% of central procurement to be through SMEs, but this does not seem to be following through to local authorities,” he added.

Despite recent criticism of G-Cloud along these and other lines, the Government Digital Service (GDS) has published figures that claim local government G-Cloud engagement is not only increasing, but that 60% of sales are going to SMEs.

However, CIF has still added its name to a growing list of organisations and people publicly calling upon the government to increase the framework’s visibility – including accredited G-Cloud suppliers and even Home Office CTO Denise McDonagh.

The grouping was established in 2009 with the aim of promoting better service to cloud buyers through certification to a common Code of Practice it drew up for online cloud service providers.

Besides holding a number of industry events, both large and small, the organisation also works to encourage the adoption of cloud technology.

© 24N.biz