Public-i's products are now available in the CloudStore

A couple of weeks ago we were notified by the Government Procurement Service that our bid to become a supplier on G Cloud was successful. For those that don’t know, G Cloud is a UK Government programme that promotes government-wide adoption of cloud computing. The initiative was created as a more flexible, efficient and accessible means of delivering public services.

The Process
We have been looking at getting some of our services on to G Cloud for over a year as an alternative way for buyers to find and purchase our products. We missed the last exercise as we were still finalising what our offering would look like but were feeling much more prepared this time round. Although fundamentally a tender process (which we are no strangers to) a glance through the guide to suppliers revealed an altogether more daunting task ahead of us. From the start of the new year I was regularly pestering the team on Twitter as we nervously waited for the exercise to open. Then it did:

We had 26 days to submit our response.
When submitting services through the Service Submission Portal we had to choose the correct lot: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) or Specialist Cloud Services (SCS) as there are specific questions for each.

Our offering
The services we have included are:
-Public-i Consultancy (SCS)
– Events – Software as a Service (SaaS)
– Connect Social – Software as a Service (SaaS)
– Social Media Research – Specialist Cloud Service (SCS)

Benefits
The biggest benefits to us as a G Cloud supplier are to be able to offer our services at the click of a button and to be certified as an approved supplier by HM Government. For buyers there are the points around:
Transparency – Costs in the CloudStore are visible from the offset allowing the buyer to compare ‘like for like’ suppliers pricing with ease.
Time saving – Buying through the CloudStore allows you to compare suppliers without going through a lengthy tender process when looking for quotes.
Cost effective – When avoiding standard procurement processes you are not only saving time but money by cutting down on the resources needed.
Trust worthy – The framework is established through OJEU and is compliant with the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 meaning suppliers on the CloudStore have already been rigorously tested for suitability of supply.
Agile – G Cloud promotes a dynamic supplier marketplace. Suppliers can offer scalability and flexibility by delivering ICT systems that are responsive to demand.

Collaboration
This exercise really reflected the collaborative way in which we try and work at Public-i. It brought together members across various departments in our organisation and during the 26 days I was regularly meeting with members of the Sales, Finance, Programmes, Delivery and Development teams. It was a big effort and would have been impossible without the input and guidance from all involved. So it is a pleasure to say we are now an official G Cloud supplier and there is another avenue for Buyers to choose when looking to procure our services. You can take a look at our offering on the CloudStore, if you’d like to find out more we’d be happy to hear from you.