There’s been a lot of talk in the past few weeks about what G-Cloud has achieved in the twelve months that have passed since we published the revised G-Cloud Strategy. The short answer is “alot” much of which we have blogged about and discussed here including:
- getting the CloudStore up and running
- putting the G-Cloudi and G-Cloudii Frameworks in place
- creating a competitive marketplace for government Cloud services with transparent pricing for over 3000 services
- engaging and supporting SME’s in supplying to the public sector
- achieving pan government accreditation for 11 services
- publishing details of the £2m spent through G-Cloud
However more specifically the last 12 months have seen a massive shift in the way the public sector thinks about procuring and managing its IT. The breaking down of complicated requirements in to smaller batches of specialist services that can be integrated to create an overall system (rather than the creation and maintenance of large, cumbersome bespoke systems) is becoming a reality which is being used to deliver major initiatives such as .gov.uk whilst it has also enabled areas of government to iterate and innovate and apply new technology to the way it delivers services as in Suffolk or Lambeth. In summary much of the behaviour declared #unacceptable by Chris Chant is beginning to change.
The challenge now is to continue to drive this change in approach to enable the savings and benefits of cloud adoption to be fully realised across the public sector and ensure that this commoditised approach with built in review cycle for both technology and cost becomes embedded in the management of public sector IT and has a truly representative, contemporary and competitive marketplace to support it.
It’s not a small undertaking and I look forward to watching it happen from my new role in the FCO where I will continue to champion the change and the benefits cloud technology can bring to the public sector – after all to paraphase the words of Gavin Pretor Pinney “Life would be dull if we had to look up at cloudless monotony day after day.” The Cloudspotter’s Guide
The benefits of cloud adoption are great and would make the best design for the public sector. Good luck at the FCO!
Very best wishes E, thanks for steering me clear of the Whitehall mantraps. Good luck at FCO, as DM says their gain is GC’s loss
You will be missed, Eleanor. The FCO’s gain is G-Cloud’s loss. Best wishes.
Thank you Mr Moss.
Eleanor,
G-Cloud is certainly shaking things up and you are right it is making people rethink ICT procurement in the public sector. Just been to visit a council today who don’t have large capital budgets so a pay-as-you-go cloud collaboration contract makes so much sense for them and certainly meets the value for money criteria.
Best wishes in your new role.