Redcentric brands resistance to G-Cloud 'unsustainable'

Reseller offers public sector customers 90-day free trial to lure them towards cloud

Redcentric is offering public sector resellers a 90-day free trial of some of its cloud tech as it looks to combat "resistance" among local bodies to buy from the G-Cloud framework.

The reseller's sales director Mark Halpin said that a large number of local authorities are not interested in buying from G-Cloud, and Redcentric has launched the trial in response.

G-Cloud was launched in 2012 with the aim of boosting cloud services in the public sector. To date, more than £900m has been spent through the framework.

Halpin said despite this, there remains a lot of caution about buying through the framework.

"For every new public sector organisation that I meet on the way to becoming a client via G-Cloud, there are another 20 who can't - or won't - engage to find out what is even possible," he said.

"I'm not sure of the precise reason for such reluctance: is it just a case of 'better the devil you know'? A lack of faith in perceived 'smaller' suppliers? Do they feel too locked in to even think there may be a way out? Too conservative to change?"

He said such resistance "is not sustainable" and urged public sector organisations to better understand cloud tech.

Redcentric customers who have found the firm through G-Cloud describe the cloud tech it provides as a "breath of fresh air", Halpin added. "Those organisations that are still suffocating under their old legacy regime need to have a really good think about G-Cloud because it's their best option for their IT to get well and to get fit," he said.

With that in mind, the reseller has launched a 90-day free cloud trial for public organisations between January and March. Authorities can pick and choose certain of its infrastructure-as-a-service offerings for the three-month period.

"I want people to learn what's possible from a service perspective and to have the chance to breathe this fresh air," he said. "And [I want] to help them start understanding the new order that G-Cloud is making possible. For what lies beyond is not just the prospect of more billions pumped into the marketplace but the potential for a truly transformed public sector where anything is possible."