New iteration of cloud agreement is forecast to be worth £2bn less than current version, while government’s major networking framework is set to expand to a term of eight years
Previews have been issued of the next iterations of two of the public sector’s biggest tech frameworks – G-Cloud and Network Services – including a cumulative expected value of £14bn for the featured providers.
The Crown Commercial Service has issued pipeline notices for G-Cloud 15 and Network Services 4.
The former is expected to commence an 18-month term in March of next year – around a month before the incumbent 14th version of G-Cloud reaches its expiry date. Once the new arrangement goes live, CCS forecasts that the deal will be worth about £5.76bn to the chosen suppliers.
This figure represents a decline of a little over £2bn on the projected £7.8bn worth of the current iteration – which contains more than 4,000 suppliers offering over 46,000 services over the three long-standing lots of Cloud Hosting, Software and Support, as well as a fourth segment dedicated to more detailed migration planning services.
This final lot, which features just 42 providers, has only been incorporated since G-Cloud 13.
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The pipeline notice does not provide detail of the planned structure or lots of the pending 15th version of the framework, beyond its title, expected value, and an indication that a formal tender process is slated to begin in July.
The other such notice released in recent days outlines plans for the fourth iteration of the Network Services framework.
The first version of the buying vehicle – which is designed to support the purchase of “network solutions, communication services, connectivity to cloud-based data and applications, audio and video conferencing, radio and satellite networking, and emerging technologies such as internet of things and smart cities” – came into effect in 2015.
The current incarnation, which features 136 suppliers across 12 lots, is due to complete its four-year term in July 2027. CCS is projecting that Network Services 4 will come into effect five months ahead of this.
The new framework is expected to run for eight years, with the estimated value of the engagement rising accordingly: from the £5bn figure attached to the previous two deals, to a total of £8.4bn for the fourth version – which is set to run until the middle of the next decade.
CCS is expecting to issue a tender inviting bids for a place on the framework around August 2026.
