Mixed feedback for "new and improved" CloudStore

Government unveils second iteration of the app store for its £60m G-Cloud framework

A second iteration of the government's CloudStore catalogue was unveiled today to a mixed reception.

Softcat, 2e2, Trustmarque and SCC were among the resellers that made the cut for the original incarnation of the app store for the government's groundbreaking G-Cloud framework when it was launched in February.

About a month later than planned, government bods today unveiled a "new and improved" version of the store built on the existing Government E-Marketplace and featuring added functionality.

Although no new services have been added, G-Cloud engagement manager Eleanor Stewart confirmed in a blog that the next round of G-Cloud procurement will be open by the end of May to ensure new suppliers can enter the store.

The improvements include a better search engine that allows freeform search for buyers. Suppliers also now have the ability to make changes to their CloudStore entry directly, Stewart added.

However, Kate Craig-Wood, managing director of CloudStore supplier Memset, was quick to criticise the new iteration, claiming it "still seems to have a lot of the issues of the last one".

"I cannot actually make it show my own services other than by searching for our company name," she wrote, adding that the side navigation "does not appear to work properly".

She also reported that the system is "extraordinarily slow".

"While I appreciate you've based it on a pre-existing system, dare I say that the pre-existing system is a bit poor and you're trying to fit a square peg into a round hole (services vs widgets for instance)?," she said.

Stewart stressed that she was keen to get as much feedback as possible so that the system could be further improved.

"In the meantime we are going to focus on improving access to the CloudStore catalogue data so others can create stores tailored to different audiences and look at putting in place ratings and reviews so customers can tell others what they think about the quality of different services," she added.