G-Cloud - what is it?

for Eduserv staff@andypowe11

May 2014

What is G-Cloud?

• A framework agreement with suppliers that sets out the terms and conditions under which purchases (‘call-offs’) can be made throughout the term of the agreement

• Part of a suite of ‘IT transformation’ policies from the current government that includes:– Cloud First– Digital by default– GDS– CloudStore– SME agenda

Cloud First

“The formal introduction of a ‘Cloud First’ policy will drive wider adoption of cloud computing in the public sector, boosting business – and furthering savings and efficiencies – through the government CloudStore, which is a quicker, cheaper and more competitive way for the public sector to buy IT”

Francis MaudeMinister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster

GeneralMay 2013

Cloud First

“On average, we saw savings of around 50% and there are examples of savings of more than this. Other benefits buyers have spoken about include greater transparency; flexibility; a simpler, clearer, faster way to buy and ultimately better value for the taxpayer – once the requirement has been defined, we have put a contract in place in three minutes!”

Tony SingletonG-Cloud Programme Director

April 2014

Three minutes?

• …yeah, right!• Emphasis is largely on cost savings and

efficiency• No real mention of innovation, agility,

scalability, etc.• Which rather flies in the face of received

wisdom about why it is good to buy from the cloud

• But anyway…

G-Cloud - the detail

• G-Cloud frameworks last for 1 year…• …and a new framework is issued very 6 months• So G-Cloud 5 is just about to go live, G-Cloud 3 is

just about to end• Purchases thru G-Cloud have maximum life of 2

years– which doesn’t necessarily mean that customers have to

move suppliers every 2 years– but they do have to re-evaluate every

2 years

What is CloudStore?

• Online shop-front for G-Cloud• A catalogue of available services• Descriptions, accreditations, pricing, terms &

conditions, etc.• Primarily intended as a procurement device

rather than a marketing device– but inevitably some cross-over

G-Cloud sales

• Are supposed to be:– cloud-like– commodity sales– little scope for negotiating bespoke services– priced for government as a whole (i.e. you have to

offer same price to all buyers)

Meanwhile, in the real world

• Bespoke ‘solutions’ can be built from commodity services

• Individual services can have multiple ‘service options’

• Pricing can include discounts– which can be complex– e.g. we discount by both volume and duration

• Buyers typically do not understand that they can’t negotiate a bespoke sale

What can/cannot be sold?

• G-Cloud services grouped into 4 lots:– Lot 1 - IaaS– Lot 2 - PaaS– Lot 3 - SaaS– Lot 4 - Specialist Cloud Services (services outside of the

three traditional ‘as a service’ (aaS) areas to support customers taking on cloud services)

• Colocation• Agile Software Development

Who can buy?

• Central government• Related public sector bodies, ALBs, etc.• Local government• Third sector organisations• NHS and other health providers• Education (all levels)

• See canibuyoffgcloudornot.com

Guidance to buyers

• Use ‘long-list -> short-list -> select’ process• Use ‘lowest cost’ or ‘MEAT-based’ selection at

short-list stage• Ask suppliers for extra information to help make

final decision on ‘best fit’ basis• Note 1: buyers must maintain records to prove

that their assessment has been fair• Note 2: long-list -> short-list often includes

filtering by accreditation status

Eduserv and G-Cloud

• We’ve been on G-Gloud since G-Cloud 2• Our offers have been relatively static since

then - currently– Five professional services (Lot 4)– Four managed services (Lot 4)– Three IaaS services (Lot 1)– Two SaaS services (Lot 3)– …and a partridge in a pear tree

G-Cloud and accreditation

• IL2 and IL3 accreditations linked to specific G-Cloud services (using unique reference number)

• Badges listed next to services on CloudStore• Semi-automatic carry forward to new iterations

of the framework• Not yet clear how this will work in the new

world of Official information with unassured, assured and accredited services

G-Cloud by numbers

• £154,635,952 - spent thru G-Cloud to end of March 2014

• 60% - of total sales by value awarded to SMEs• 79% - of total sales by value procured by

central government• >13,000 - services listed on CloudStore• 1,160 – suppliers listed on CloudStore (G-

Cloud 5)

G-Cloud by numbers

• 300 – number of suppliers who have actually made a sale on G-Cloud

• 437 – number of customers who have bought on G-Cloud• £16,725 – average total sales per SME on G-Cloud• 38 - only 38 out of nearly 300 UK councils and local

authorities have been involved in procurement using G-Cloud

• 76% - of local authorities and councils have no knowledge of what the G-Cloud framework can be used for

And for Eduserv

• £1,283,420 - sales via G-Cloud (to end of March 2014)

• £1,199,419 – of which is to DfE !• 3rd - our G-Cloud ranking, in terms of IaaS sales

over last 6 months (behind Skyscape and ComputaCenter)

Conclusion - G-Cloud successes

• Consistent growth in sales• Improved competition• More opportunity for SMEs• Positive impact on supplier behaviour• Flagship individuals have been quite effective

at promoting G-Cloud (Chris Chant, Denise McDonagh, Liam Maxwell, …)

But…

• Concern that move ofG-Cloud into GDS will lowerits profile

• G-Cloud sales represent ~1%of overall government spendon ICT

• Claims around cost savings don’t seem overly convincing in context of cloud vs not cloud

• Impact on buyer behaviour minimal• Limited in-roads into wider public sector• Little progress in encouraging ‘cloud’ mentality in buyer

community

And, so far…

• CloudStore has had some usability issues• Attempts to ‘compare on price’ largely failed

(at the CloudStore level)• Now being re-engineered as new, bigger

‘Digital Marketplace’ (which will include additional frameworks)

• Not yet clear whether this will be an improvement