G2G Sales
Tuesday 1st December 2015
As analysis is being undertaken of G Cloud spending by the Public Sector it is interesting to note the number of public sector organisations seeking to leverage their own expertise and experience to benefit others in their own sub-sectors. For financial reward of course! As well as the trading funds (FCO Services, Ordnance Survey etc.) there are Police forces seeking to sell excess data centre capacity, Health CCG patient management services , even The National Archives has an offer available through the G Cloud framework. It's not uncommon for public sector bodies to seek commercial gain from their knowledge or in-house developed services from other public sector organisations - what is interesting is that the G Cloud catalogue is the medium done to do so.
It shows the importance of being seen on the catalogue - and just getting onto the framework does cost vendors with no guarantee of any sales. Each sale through G Cloud has attracts a 1% levy - adding to the cost of doing business, yet in Crown to Crown procurement arrangement (i.e. a sale between public sector bodies) there is no levy and certainly no "framework bid cost". The Cloudstore, as was, is a marketing tool an established route or channel to market.
Vendors may ask themselves whether the time and effort spent in preparing and submitting documentation for each G Cloud iteration is worth the return. In short the cost of not participating could be higher, and the fear of what could happen by not being on it is a powerful motivator. As a research tool for Public sector organisations it is invaluable, even if they do not make a purchase through the medium, the brand and what it offers becomes known, and that is recognized by both private and public sector vendors.