G-Cloud 14 offers public sector organisations access to cover 46,000 cloud services from more than 4,000 suppliers. This latest iteration simplifies procurement, providing flexible and cost-effective cloud solutions across hosting, software, and support categories. It promotes innovation, transparency, and efficiency, with a focus on small- and medium-sized enterprises, making it easier for organisations to access scalable services at competitive rates.
In November 2024, G-Cloud 14, the newest iteration of the UK Government’s cloud computing procurement agreement launched, replacing its predecessor, G-Cloud 13. Since its inception in 2012, the G-Cloud Agreement, as part of the Crown Commercial Service (CSS), has generated £2.3 billion in commercial benefits, demonstrating sizeable savings for the public over the last decade. This amounts to an average of £192 million each year.
What is G-Cloud-14?
Public sector customers can buy the latest cloud-based computing services across hosting, software, and cloud support categories, and the service includes many off-the-shelf, pay-as-you-go cloud solutions, which are beneficial for customers that only want to pay for services they actually use. Organisations can have the latest technology accessible at their fingertips, thanks to updates with each refresh of the G-Cloud agreement.
This agreement encourages public sector organisations to evaluate and pursue cloud-based services, which are available at better rates, and the aim for simplicity means the process is streamlined and efficient. There is no OJEU, Invitation to Tender (ITT), Request for Price (RFP), request for quote (RFQ), request for information (RFI), or negotiation involved in the buying process.
G-Cloud is available for all public sector organisations including: central government, charities, education, health, local authority, blue light (police, fire, ambulance, search and rescue), devolved administrations, and British overseas territories. All suppliers of a cloud service can apply to sell on the G-Cloud framework, and they do not need to be based in the UK to do so.
Why do I need G-Cloud 14?
The newest version will run for 18 months, ending in April 2026, and provides customers access to over 46,000 services over 4,000 different suppliers, 90 per cent of these being small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). With 70 per cent of the total suppliers being classed as micro and small organisations, the CCS’s cloud procurement agreement allows suppliers of all sizes to succeed across the public sector in a competitive marketplace.
G-Cloud 14 is a particularly attractive agreement for public sector organisations as it allows them to access scalable services where business can just pay for what they use, which works out much cheaper than running their own services in house. G-Cloud 14 is accessible, easy to navigate, and straightforward. Organisations can compare the latest cloud services easily through having them all in the Digital Marketplace. Buying and selling on the Digital Marketplace differs depending on the framework and services being exchanged, but buyers and suppliers still need to sign a contract (a ‘call-off contract’) for each service bought through the framework.
G-Cloud has been frequently re-procured throughout its lifetime, maintaining a focus on innovation and facilitating the addition of new and emerging technologies and suppliers to the framework between iterations, constantly modernising and improving the services on offer. An additional key benefit of the G-Cloud framework is the transparency it provides to public sector organisations, with the catalogue detailing suppliers’ full service information, including service definitions, pricing and the suppliers’ terms and conditions. This gives buyers the full picture of services available to them, allowing them to make informed decisions about the services they buy and maximise the value they achieve from their procurement.
Phillip Orumwense, commercial director and chief procurement officer for technology at Crown Commercial Service, said: “G-Cloud continues to be a great public sector success, offering significant opportunities to a large number of SMEs and providing an easily accessible marketplace to access cloud computing services.
“This new iteration demonstrates CCS’s ongoing commitment to safeguarding the buying process for our customers as we work to unlock the full power of procurement.” Further details G-Cloud 14, like its predecessor, comprises four lots, 1-3 of which are accessible via the Contract Award Service (CAS), whereas Lot 4 is accessible through the CCS’s eSourcing platforms. Both of these pathways will require their customers to register.
Lot 1 Hosting gives buyers platform or infrastructure services for processing and storing data, running software and networking, as well as cloud hosting, which grants the capability to deploy, manage and run software, alongside processing, storage, or network resources. Services covered by this lot include archiving, backup and recovery, and databases.
Lot 2 Cloud Software offers applications that are usually available over the internet or private network and hosted in the cloud, such as accounting and finance, creative, design and publishing, and marketing.
Lot 3 Cloud Support offers support to help set up and maintain cloud software or hosting services, including: cloud migration planning, set up and migration, security services, quality assurance and performance testing, training, and ongoing support.
G-Cloud 14 Lot 4, which was introduced for the first time in the framework’s previous iteration, is for further competition only, and enables organisations to compete in larger and more complex cloud support requirements, though there is no minimum spend requirement here. It covers the same scope as Lot 3, but requires buyers to run their own further competitions across the range of services.
New for this edition of the framework, G-Cloud 14 has seen the introduction of economic and financial standing assessments of prospective suppliers to the selection process for Lots 1-3. Financial assessment has already been a requirement when selecting Lot 4 suppliers. This additional assessment reassures customers of the credibility of suppliers.
Limitations and redirects in G-Cloud 14 Although G-Cloud 14 comprises a wide range of cloud services, there are some limitations. Buyers cannot use G-Cloud 14 to buy co-location services (buyers are redirected to use RM5252 Crown Hosting II), non-cloud related services (buyers are redirected to RM4187 Management Consultancy Framework 3 or, for non-cloud technology services, to RM6100 Technology Services), bespoke design and development (buyers are redirected to use RM1043.8 Digital Outcomes 6), hardware services (buyers are directed to use RM6068 Technology Products and Associated Services or RM6194 Back Office Software), or recruitment. G-Cloud 15 will replace this framework from April 2026, and work for this is already underway.
Seth Finegan, UK CEO of Informed Solutions which has been named as a supplier on G-Cloud 14, said: “As a scaling data science, AI, and digital technology provider the value of G-Cloud as an effective marketplace has been substantial.
“Through G-Cloud we’ve been presented with opportunities to bid for and win nationally significant digital transformation contracts for essential cloud-based services that are used by millions of people every day in an increasingly connected and converged world.”
