The Cloud Compute agreement update

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) says that there is greater choice and range in public sector cloud technology, concerning the Cloud Compute agreement update

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) launched the latest iteration of its Cloud Compute agreement in November 2023, providing public sector organisations with more choice in how they access cloud technology solutions.

Cloud Compute 2 [RM6292] builds on the existing Cloud Compute agreement to continue to allow customers to purchase flexible, high-volume public cloud solutions directly from hyperscaler organisations.

The new agreement will continue to offer both Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) products, allowing customers the freedom to quickly scale their offering around changes in demand.

Cloud Compute 2 was awarded on 28th November 2023. There will continue to be longer call-off options than other cloud agreements and more flexibility to purchase new service offerings during the contract term as new needs arise.

Innovations and benefits

The new iteration of Cloud Compute will continue to complement current and future iterations of G-Cloud, providing an easy route to market for larger and more complex products. In contrast, G-Cloud continues to manage smaller value requirements, which are more easily purchased off the shelf.

The two frameworks will continue to work in tandem to give customers easy access to all the services they need, continuing the first Cloud Compute agreement’s access to the largest range of public cloud suppliers.

This agreement is also directly aligned with the One Government Cloud Strategy (OGCS), which encourages customers in the public sector to become more self-sufficient in their use of the Public Cloud.

In addition:

• A greater level of choice of suppliers and additional services than the original Cloud Compute framework.
• Supports customers’ adoption and maximisation of cloud through both professional services and value- adding ancillary services, provided by cloud experts and partners.
• Expanded scope to encompass the full market offering, including consultancy.
• Cloud Secure+ facilitates the direct purchase of services within the scope of this agreement to handle information at the above official security classification, allowing customers handling sensitive data to access secure solutions.

The Lots on Cloud Compute will comprise:

• Lot 1 – Public Cloud.
• Lot 2 – Value Added Services.
• Lot 3 – Public Cloud Support Services.
• Lot 4 – Cloud Secure.

Customer and supplier engagement

Cloud Compute 2 was developed after extensive engagement across the sector, with key hyperscaler organisations, accredited resellers and value-added service providers.

An in-depth multi-staged market segmentation exercise was made open to 251 organisations strategically identified as capable of supplying the expanded scope of Cloud Compute 2.

Increased opportunities for SMEs

Cloud Compute 2 has also increased opportunities for SMEs to win business, with, on average, over one-third (36%) of suppliers on the agreement being SMEs.

54 SMEs have been named as suppliers on the agreement, out of 139 suppliers across the agreement’s four lots. The proportion of suppliers on individual lots that are SMEs goes as high as 46% under Lot 3 (36 out of 78 total suppliers).

Customer webinars

To support the launch of Cloud Compute 2, our team of category experts will be holding a series of interactive webinars for customers in the New Year.

Continue to check our CCS webinar page for the latest dates.

Find out more

To find out more about Cloud Compute 2 visit the agreement webpage or contact the CCS Service Desk at info@crowncommercial.gov.uk / 0345 410 2222.

Don’t forget, you can locate full list of all the commercial agreements CCS offer, alongside details of how we can help you build policy considerations into your procurement, in our interactive digital brochure.

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Crown Commercial Service (CCS)
info@crowncommercial.gov.uk
www.crowncommercial.gov.uk
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