G-Cloud must focus on transparency if it is to improve lacklustre performance, warns CIF

Responding to news that G-Cloud has been given an ‘amber/red’ status by the Major Projects Authority (MPA), the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) questions what it has really achieved since it launched in 2011. According to Alex Hilton, CIF’s CEO, G-Cloud lacks the single ingredient that must underpin every procurement service: transparency.

Hilton said: “Our latest research on the UK market indicates that cloud adoption rates in the public sector match those in the private sector, both standing at 69 per cent, but this enthusiasm does not seem to have spread to local government, which simply hasn’t taken to G-Cloud as was predicted.

"From its inception, G-Cloud held a great deal of promise and we fundamentally support a consistent approach to cloud procurement by government. The government’s stated aspiration is for 25% of central procurement to be through SMEs, but this does not seem to be following through to local authorities.
“The Cloud Industry Forum’s Code of Practice is a certification model for Cloud procurement services. We encourage G-Cloud providers to promote it to their local authority customers to further assure their Cloud credentials.

“Whilst the European Commission is driving it’s Digital Agenda for Europe the UK government doesn’t itself subscribe today to any certification schemes, we believe it should be offering more assistance and guidance in the selection of suitable and trustworthy cloud providers" Alex concluded.