UK buys time with £1.65B extension to G-Cloud framework
(2025/07/29)
- Reference: 1753777687
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/07/29/ukgov_extends_cloud_deals/
- Source link:
The UK government is extending two major cloud purchasing agreements due to delayed replacement arrangements under frameworks that could be worth an additional £1.65 billion.
The cloud services framework deals – which allow for purchasing under pre-defined arrangements – were supposed to end on April 28 next year, but have now been extended by six months, according to recently published procurement notices.
The [1]G-Cloud 14 framework kicked off in October last year and was supposed to last for 18 months until April 28, 2026. The award for [2]lots 1 to 3 was worth up to £6.5 billion, while [3]lot 4 was set to be worth up to £1 billion. They cover a broad range of cloud software as well as migration services.
[4]
In April 2025, the Crown Commercial Service [5]kicked off procurement of the replacement cloud framework, G-Cloud 15. According to a pre-procurement notice, that deal was expected to last from March 18, 2026, to September 17, 2027, and be worth up to £4.8 billion.
[6]
[7]
However, two notices published late last week suggest that timetable has slipped. They extend G-Cloud 14 from April 28, 2026, until October 28, 2026, at a cost of up to £650 million for [8]lots 1 to 3 and up to £1 billion for [9]lot 4 .
The notices only say: "The extension will facilitate the procurement of G-Cloud 15," with more information to be made available later.
[10]UK government to open £16B IT services competition after 6-month delay
[11]UK government's cloud strategy: Pay more, get less, blame vendor lock-in?
[12]UK government tech procurement lacks understanding, says watchdog
[13]£3.8B later, old tech supplier flames still burning for HMRC
Procurement of cloud services has become a hot topic in central government as critics argue the two leading cloud providers – AWS and Microsoft Azure – continue to dominate, limiting value for money and stifling innovation.
In February, Andrew Forzani, chief commercial officer in the Cabinet Office, [14]told a Parliamentary spending watchdog that if the government wanted to use its spending power to strike better deals with the top cloud providers, individual departments needed to align their requirements.
[15]
He was responding to criticism that the [16]Home Office awarded AWS a £450 million contract for cloud services over three years. The deal replaced an earlier £120 million deal awarded in December 2020.
In April last year, [17]The Register found the government had admitted its negotiations with leading cloud providers was hamstrung by vendor lock-in.
A document from the Cabinet Office's Central Digital & Data Office – which has since been rolled into the Government Digital Service in the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology – said the "UK government's current approach to cloud adoption and management across its departments faces several challenges," which together "risk concentration and vendor lock-in that inhibit UK government's negotiating power over the cloud vendors." ®
Get our [18]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM1557.14
[2] https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/037392-2024
[3] https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/038131-2024
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aIibvdJAbqbT_UXxyh7eHgAAAIc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/015819-2025
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aIibvdJAbqbT_UXxyh7eHgAAAIc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aIibvdJAbqbT_UXxyh7eHgAAAIc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/47ee381e-cc03-4b46-8fa8-6bd93dc1858e
[9] https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/3d4a5497-1290-40fd-95e2-29fe01660abe
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/17/uk_technology_services_4/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/28/uk_government_cloud_strategy/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/16/nao_uk_government_tech/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/09/hmrc_aspire_supplier_deals/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/28/uk_government_cloud_strategy/
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aIibvdJAbqbT_UXxyh7eHgAAAIc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/01/uk_home_office_aws/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/04/uk_cddo_admits_cloud_spending_lock_issues_exclusive/
[18] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The cloud services framework deals – which allow for purchasing under pre-defined arrangements – were supposed to end on April 28 next year, but have now been extended by six months, according to recently published procurement notices.
The [1]G-Cloud 14 framework kicked off in October last year and was supposed to last for 18 months until April 28, 2026. The award for [2]lots 1 to 3 was worth up to £6.5 billion, while [3]lot 4 was set to be worth up to £1 billion. They cover a broad range of cloud software as well as migration services.
[4]
In April 2025, the Crown Commercial Service [5]kicked off procurement of the replacement cloud framework, G-Cloud 15. According to a pre-procurement notice, that deal was expected to last from March 18, 2026, to September 17, 2027, and be worth up to £4.8 billion.
[6]
[7]
However, two notices published late last week suggest that timetable has slipped. They extend G-Cloud 14 from April 28, 2026, until October 28, 2026, at a cost of up to £650 million for [8]lots 1 to 3 and up to £1 billion for [9]lot 4 .
The notices only say: "The extension will facilitate the procurement of G-Cloud 15," with more information to be made available later.
[10]UK government to open £16B IT services competition after 6-month delay
[11]UK government's cloud strategy: Pay more, get less, blame vendor lock-in?
[12]UK government tech procurement lacks understanding, says watchdog
[13]£3.8B later, old tech supplier flames still burning for HMRC
Procurement of cloud services has become a hot topic in central government as critics argue the two leading cloud providers – AWS and Microsoft Azure – continue to dominate, limiting value for money and stifling innovation.
In February, Andrew Forzani, chief commercial officer in the Cabinet Office, [14]told a Parliamentary spending watchdog that if the government wanted to use its spending power to strike better deals with the top cloud providers, individual departments needed to align their requirements.
[15]
He was responding to criticism that the [16]Home Office awarded AWS a £450 million contract for cloud services over three years. The deal replaced an earlier £120 million deal awarded in December 2020.
In April last year, [17]The Register found the government had admitted its negotiations with leading cloud providers was hamstrung by vendor lock-in.
A document from the Cabinet Office's Central Digital & Data Office – which has since been rolled into the Government Digital Service in the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology – said the "UK government's current approach to cloud adoption and management across its departments faces several challenges," which together "risk concentration and vendor lock-in that inhibit UK government's negotiating power over the cloud vendors." ®
Get our [18]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM1557.14
[2] https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/037392-2024
[3] https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/038131-2024
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aIibvdJAbqbT_UXxyh7eHgAAAIc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/015819-2025
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aIibvdJAbqbT_UXxyh7eHgAAAIc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aIibvdJAbqbT_UXxyh7eHgAAAIc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/47ee381e-cc03-4b46-8fa8-6bd93dc1858e
[9] https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/3d4a5497-1290-40fd-95e2-29fe01660abe
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/17/uk_technology_services_4/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/28/uk_government_cloud_strategy/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/16/nao_uk_government_tech/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/09/hmrc_aspire_supplier_deals/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/28/uk_government_cloud_strategy/
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aIibvdJAbqbT_UXxyh7eHgAAAIc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/01/uk_home_office_aws/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/04/uk_cddo_admits_cloud_spending_lock_issues_exclusive/
[18] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: more money for the big guys
elsergiovolador
up demanding 20 years of experience for £200/day inside ir35.
But they charge client £1000-2500+ a day. IR35 enabled massive extraction of value from British talent.
IR35 only applies to worker owned business, so these big consultancies exempt from it can make massive profit from it.
Re: more money for the big guys
Carl W
Same, we ended up not bothering to renew. There seems to be either a misunderstanding about how to use G-Cloud or some other reluctance as the civil servants seem to prefer running a procurement. G-Cloud is supposed to be like a catalogue that you buy from, using the search query terms to narrow down the number of results you get to a reasonable number.
more money for the big guys
i'm on the gcloud & DOS. its almost impossible for smbs and micros to get any work.
this will be another £1.65 billion for the big indian outsourcers who seem to be getting ALL the work.
Crown Commercial should be more like a service integrator & take groups of smaller UK businesses , thus getting a big chunk of that money back in taxes AND giving UK kids career options, rather than giving all the work to shysters like wipro infosys TCS & the multitude of other indian firms who call me up demanding 20 years of experience for £200/day inside ir35.
Government should prioritise its buying & planning to provide jobs & options domestically rather than pumping money out of the country & literally making IT ax dead end career now.
i guess the british establishment doesn't want highly skilled tech industries just cap doffing street cleaners