G-Cloud 7 has 'straightjacket clause' that will hamper ability to save costs, claims Eduserv

Will new G-Cloud clause mean a return to bigger, less flexible contracts in the public sector?

The seventh iteration of G-Cloud, which is to go live on November 23, incorporates a "straightjacket clause" in it that would limit the scope for cost savings through cloud adoption, according to Eduserv, the not-for-profit provider of IT for the public sector.

Eduserv believes that the clause, which specifies that contracts that vary by more or less than 20 per cent of the original specification, purchasers would have to enter a new round of procurement.

According to the organisation, the 20 per cent rule goes against the initial purpose behind the introduction of G-Cloud; namely, to introduce flexibility to IT procurement.

Eduserv suggests three examples that show that the rule will hamper the benefits that G-Cloud is supposed to provide to government departments:

• A buyer planning a full-scale migration to cloud, phased over a period of motnhs or years, will have to re-procure regularly as they go through that migration, which will mean constant interruptions;
• A buyer who wishes to work with a cloud services provider will have to re-procure their cloud services once the threshold of 20 per cent efficiency gains have been met, creating complications in the contract with the cloud services partner;
• A customer that wishes to work with other cloud-service providers can no longer end their contract using the 30-day right to termination for any reason. Instead, they must wait until 80 per cent of the requirement has been met.

Eduserv told Computing that it had written to the Cabinet Office with its views about this, and urged other businesses and purchasers to do the same. It said it was also in discussions with techUK, which represents the IT industry in the UK.

But why would the Cabinet Office want to add a clause in to the contract - what is in it for them?

Andrew Hawkins, business director for government and public sector at Eduserv, told Computing that the motivation for the introduction of the 20 per cent rule was unclear. He said one of the biggest concerns would be that it could encourage a return to bad habits.

"There is a worry that this will usher in a return to the bad habits and poor value for money we have seen previously in the public sector as a result of bigger, less flexible contracts," he said.

"The measures put in place are nearly entirely counter to current thinking about agile deployment of it services and the use of cloud in the public sector," he added.

Computing has contacted the Cabinet Office for a response and will update the story accordingly.