Budget could boost local council G-Cloud usage, says Skyscape

Devolution push could force the case for wider adoption of G-Cloud among UK town halls

Measures introduced in yesterday's Budget could prompt wider adoption of G-Cloud among local councils, according to one of the framework's top suppliers.

Town halls have largely snubbed G-Cloud since its launch in 2012 but this may change as more spending power is devolved to them from central government, Skyscape claimed.

Research carried out by CRN last summer found that just 27 per cent of local councils had firm plans in place to use G-Cloud in the current fiscal year. Forty per cent ruled out using it over the period, while two per cent had no idea it even existed.

At the time, local councils accounted for just six per cent of G-Cloud's sales, with cultural differences, as well as commitments over shared services, cited as possible barriers to adoption.

"There will be more devolution of power and spend to local communities with the chancellor promising that by the end of this parliament, 100 per cent of local government resources will come from local government," said Nicky Stewart, commercial director at Skyscape Cloud Services.

"This measure could force the case for wider adoption of G-Cloud by local government over the course of this parliament, which is to be welcomed."

Stewart was also hopeful that a further £3.5bn cut in public spending by 2019/20 announced yesterday could force central government departments to accelerate digital transformation plans.

"Many departments are already pared to the bone, and appear to be struggling to make the efficiency gains set out in their previous plans," she said. "Achieving these latest cuts will be extremely challenging, making digital transformation of government services even more vital and compelling, especially regarding cloud adoption."

Meanwhile, Ian Parslow (pictured), senior vice president at storage integrator MTI Technology, welcomed the business tax breaks announced in yesterday's Budget but felt there was a lack of emphasis on addressing the skills shortage.

"The Budget set out this year has the potential to aid thousands of growing tech businesses across the UK. Reform on business rates will mean that some smaller tech firms will pay less, or nothing at all. Plans to double the annual threshold for small business tax relief is also a step forward in enabling small tech businesses to do what they do best: innovate and grow," Parslow said.

"Interestingly, there were no specific measures to address the skills gap in various industries, especially technology within the UK. In previous Budgets and spending reviews, there were provisions for the apprenticeship levy as well as greater investment in STEM. Further investment and support for the UK's educational institutions and businesses would have been welcomed by the UK tech industry, as both share a joint responsibility to ensure graduates are supported at the start of a career in science or technology."