'Considerably more' must be done to promote G-Cloud

Digital Marketplace blog claims that work is needed to ensure government departments adopt cloud

Some SMBs have managed to double their workforce thanks to the G-Cloud, but "considerably more" still needs to be done to ensure the government follows its 'cloud first' policy, the government's Digital Marketplace has said in a blog post.

The blog post - Digital Marketplace Strategy: March 2015 - provided an update on the organisation's strategy, which became the umbrella group for the G-Cloud and the Digital Services Framework (DSF) in February. According to today's blog, total sales for G-Cloud since it was launched in February 2012 stand at £467m, with £300m coming in the last 12 months.

But the Digital Marketplace did admit that it needed to do more to make sure that the public sector takes advantage of the services it offers.

"More needs to be done to ensure that central government departments are following the 'Cloud First' policy. In addition, encouragement is needed for the wider public sector to benefit from services offered on the Digital Marketplace."

It went on to say: "The National Audit Office has estimated that the total IT spend in 2011/12 was £6.96bn, so it would seem that considerably more could be done to help government buyers follow the Cloud First policy and increase G-Cloud throughput."

But the blog added that G-Cloud has benefited a number of SMBs, including some who have had to increase their headcount twofold.

"The work some SMEs have gained through G-Cloud has doubled their workforce," the post said. "One of the biggest achievements of the G-Cloud programme is the way in which it has reduced the barriers for entry for many SMEs who have never worked with the public sector before."

But the SMB-friendly rhetoric comes shortly after heavy criticism among some suppliers.

Last month, suppliers Helpful Tech, Clearleft and DXW all penned blogs that highlighted their concerns over the framework.