UK SMEs miss cloud opportunity

cloud computing programme - but SMEs are missing out because they're not applying, Business Zone reports.

It's an official part of government policy to get more SMEs pitching for ICT business across the public sector, something that too many have been deterred from attempting due to the cost and complexity of current procurement procedures.

Government has an ongoing ambition to use more small and medium suppliers and has targeted that 25% of all public contracts should be distributed among these firms, The Cloud Circle notes.

The problem of large companies monopolising government spend is particularly prevalent in IT, with some firms having been accused of taking advantage of the public purse and not providing value for money.

Hence, proactive efforts are being taken across government to remedy the situation, with the G-Cloud tender a prime case in point. A simplified process for applying with detailed instruction has been provided.

Andy Nelson, CIO at the Ministry of Justice, also said that plans for the new government App Store were on track and would go live in basic form in March 2012, with the planned 50 fully accredited apps available to government by the end of the year, BusinessCloud9 says.

He urged SMEs to participate in the cloud tendering process. “If you are a SME and you have a SaaS or other cloud service that government might use - we want to know about it.”