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G-Cloud sellers hit out against cap on scaling services

'We've not heard any sensible justification for this'

G-Cloud suppliers have hit out against new rules to be introduced in the next iteration of the cloudy framework this month. The new guidelines will slap a 20 per cap on how much buyers can scale their services.

Trade association EuroCloud said the changes are incompatible with the pay-as-you-go cloud subscription model.

The restriction means buyers cannot increase the value of the original contract by more than one-fifth without re-procuring from the cloudy framework.

Neil Bacon, a member of EuroCloud's G-Cloud working group, said the introduction of a 20 per cent cap by the Crown Commercial Service, was bringing back "time-wasting procurement bureaucracy that G-Cloud aims to banish”.

Phil Wainewright, chair of EuroCloud, added: "There is no reason for setting an arbitrary 20 per cent limit typical of old fashioned procurement thinking.

He added: "This isn't just a few awkward people making comments - there is a substantial number of suppliers who got together and said we need to be careful don’t see old habits creeping back."

He said that while there is not much that can be done to change the rules of the incoming framework, suppliers hoped that the cap would be lifted for the next one.

"We've not heard any sensible justification for this. We suspect it is just people who have not thought it through. As G-Cloud becomes more mainstream, other people not attuned to founding principles of the core team."

According to the latest sales figures, some £806m has been channelled through the G-Cloud since it was opened for business in April 2012. But the vast majority of that spend remains on consultancy service rather than commodity cloud IT.

In 2012, the government had committed to push 50 per cent of all new IT spend through the framework by the end of this year. However, it has since gone quiet on its progress toward this goal. ®

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