Editorial

G-Cloud 12 to G-Cloud 13: How did we get here?

As we get closer to the launch of G-Cloud 13, our friends at Advice Cloud share their thoughts on the journey of the governments procurement framework

Posted 17 May 2022 by Matt Stanley


In this in-depth piece, we look at the journey of the flagship G-Cloud framework – from G-Cloud 12 to G-Cloud 13!

If you need a little refresher on how G-Cloud works and what it’s all about, check out this quick recap.

G-Cloud 12: What’s been bought?

Spend Overview

Let’s start with a summary of the framework spend last year. 2021 saw a total spend of just over £2.68 billion via the G-Cloud framework. 60% of G-Cloud sales were a form of Cloud Support, 30% were Cloud Software and 10% were Cloud Hosting services. Unsurprisingly, Central Government spent the most with £2 billion (77%). In second place is the health sector with a total spend of £220.7 million (8%), closely followed by Local Gov at £164.9 million (6%).

It’s encouraging to see that the Government’s target of spending at least 33% with SMEs by 2022 is already being smashed. In 2021, 38% of sales made through G-Cloud were awarded to SMEs. Overall on G-Cloud 12, 91% of suppliers were SMEs. CCS has worked to empower customers to achieve this target by providing them with the information they need to make informed decisions. Such information includes transparent pricing and accessible service definitions, making the application process easier while completing ongoing assurance. G-Cloud is the place to be for small and medium businesses.

Technology Trends

Technology and digital transformation consultancy

This covers a lot of ground and is always a popular one. Most of the top suppliers on the framework have provided, and continue to provide, consultancy surrounding digital transformation. Top suppliers are Capgemini, Deloitte, PA Consulting, IBM and Equal Experts.

Cloud migration services

Similarly, more and more government departments are recognising the need for cloud migration, therefore turning to G-Cloud. Top suppliers in 2021 included AWS, Azure and UKCloud Ltd.

Who’s buying what?

By far the biggest spender on the G-Cloud framework is the Home Office. This Government department spent £283 million via G-Cloud 12 in 2021 alone. This is down to their increasing focus on developments such as cloud Information Systems surrounding counter-terrorism and also launching schemes like this Crowd Safety app.

Another Central Gov organisation getting the most out of G-Cloud is the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). IBM very recently secured a contract with DWP to address its IT systems and enhance administrative processes for the State Pension payment system. 

Despite this contract, over half of DWP’s spend last year was with SMEs. HM Passport Office is the most notable with smaller businesses supplying 91% of its procured services. They recently launched a new digital appointment service using SaaS via tech suppliers TopLevel.

What to expect in G-Cloud 13

G-Cloud 12 will be coming to an end on 27th September 2022 after a year’s extension. As you can see, the 12th iteration shows there is a great deal of value in the framework – with the total spend to date being over £5.6 billion!

We can expect to see the same technology development patterns continuing for G-Cloud 13. Central Government will undoubtedly still provide the largest contracts. However, we may start to see more services being procured by local government as newer technologies are accepted and G-Cloud continues to grow.

In terms of tech bought in the future, we can only speculate! But there does seem to be keen interest from the government in taking advantage of newer tech such as AI and RPA. Government bodies such as DWP and even MI5 are looking into these so we could start to see more contracts being awarded for these technologies.

The new fourth Lot

Crown Commercial Service decided on a 4th Lot for G-Cloud 13, specifically for more complex end-to-end cloud services. Suppliers on this Lot must be able to provide ALL of these solutions:

  • Planning
  • Setup and migration
  • Security Services
  • Quality assurance and performance testing
  • Training
  • Ongoing support

It operates almost as a separate framework to the first 3 Lots, with a stand-alone application. Suppliers are required to submit their tender responses, rather than upload a catalogue style listing. There will be no direct award in Lot 4, relying on further competition only. We’re expecting this will bring some more advanced technologies to the public sector!

Of course, with such a vast framework it’s hard to predict what might go through this iteration. This brief overview of pre-procurement information and plans from the public sector should hopefully get you up to date with where G-Cloud is currently at.