UK government inflates G-Cloud framework to £14B

Steven

UK government inflates G-Cloud framework to £14B

Summary

The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has opened the G-Cloud 15 tender, a framework for cloud infrastructure, platform and hosting services across the UK public sector, now valued at up to £14 billion (excluding VAT) over four years. The agreement is expected to run from September next year until September 2030 and will include cloud compute services previously offered under a separate framework.

The new figure is a large increase from an earlier market engagement that estimated up to £4.8 billion over 18 months. The change follows procurement delays that forced extensions to existing cloud deals and broader concerns about vendor lock-in and risk concentration, which government papers say have weakened negotiating power with major cloud providers.

Key Points

  • CCS launched the G-Cloud 15 competition for IaaS/PaaS/hosting, capped at £14bn over four years (ex VAT).
  • The framework’s value and duration have expanded significantly from the earlier estimate of £4.8bn over 18 months.
  • G-Cloud 15 will include cloud compute previously on a different framework.
  • UK public sector cloud spending was reported at around £6bn in 2024; G-Cloud 14 spending was £3.1bn in FY 2023/24.
  • Procurement delays led to extensions of major cloud frameworks, adding roughly £1.65bn in potential spend.
  • Official analysis highlights vendor lock-in and risk concentration as barriers to stronger negotiating power with hyperscalers.
  • Officials say better alignment of departmental requirements is needed to use government spending to secure improved deals.

Context and relevance

This tender will shape where billions of pounds of public IT spend flows over the next several years, affecting hyperscalers, cloud resellers and smaller suppliers. Larger framework values and longer terms can entrench market positions, so competition, pricing and multi-cloud strategies across the public sector are all at stake.

For procurement teams and suppliers, the announcement signals both opportunity and risk: big contracts are on the table, but long timeframes and lock-in concerns mean outcomes will depend on contract design, departmental coordination and regulatory scrutiny.

Why should I read this

Want to know where a bucketload of public money might end up and how that will change the cloud market? This is the one-paragraph catch-up — keeps you out of the tender docs rabbit hole and tells you the bits that actually matter: scale, timing, and the vendor-lock problems everyone keeps moaning about.

Author note

Punchy take: this is a material shift in public-sector cloud procurement. A near-threefold expansion from the earlier estimate and a four-year horizon gives suppliers and departments a lot to plan for — and gives critics ammunition about lock-in and competition. Read closely if you influence cloud strategy or supply to government.

Source

Source: https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/28/uk_g_cloud_15/