G-Cloud 9 expected to boost local government take-up Credit: Maurizio Gambarini/DPA/Press Association Images

G-Cloud 9 goes live today, with the total number of firms rising by more than 100 from the predecessor iterations.

A list obtained by PublicTechnology.net shows a net rise in suppliers on the framework, although the government has yet to confirm the exact number of new suppliers and those dropping off.

Suppliers are optimistic that the new iteration will make it easier to find results, due to new sub-category functionality.

Chris Farthing, managing director of Digital Marketplace consultancy Advice Cloud, told PublicTechnology: “The categorisation on G-Cloud 9 is more detailed than previously, which should help the buyer overcome the shortlisting challenges.

“Previously a search would return thousands of results. Now buyers will be able to overcome this by drilling down to firms that are best for their needs.”

Farthing added that new terms and conditions are likely to have resulted in the bulk of recruitment firms who used previous iterations dropping off the framework.

And he said that it is likely that more councils – who have been slow to adopt G-Cloud - are likely to be attracted to the framework thanks to an increase in the maximum call-off.

Previously, the maximum call-off time was two years, but now public sector organisations will have the ability to extend this for two periods of 12 months.

“There has been reluctance among local authorities to use the framework, partly because bringing applications online can be time consuming. Having longer to work with a supplier should address this concern.”

John Jervis, sales and marketing director at public sector digital transformation and channel shift supplier IEG4, said: “With G-Cloud 9, after the initial two year contract period, the buyer can extend the contract for an additional 2 periods of up to 12 months each - without the need for approval for local government and healthcare.

“We are confident that will increase uptake across the board. It will provide to users a vendor that they can partner with over a longer period, share roadmaps with and join the transformation journey the sector is undergoing."

The government had not confirmed the list of suppliers by the time of publication.

View the full list of suppliers on G-Cloud 9