At One Big Circle we’re incredibly pleased to announce that we can, as of this week, be found on the Digital Marketplace as an approved supplier on the G-Cloud 11 Network. Before expanding upon what this means to us as a company, it’s probably useful to explain exactly what the G-Cloud 11 is.
The G-Cloud 11 Framework is an initiative taken by the UK Government that aims to ease the procurement processes of public sector bodies. For these organisations, entering into individual procurement contracts can be tricky and often costly, and while the government and suppliers are still required to sign contracts when working together, operating through a framework is far more financially and time efficient.
As part of the ‘Cloud First’ policy launched back in 2013, the framework allows public sector bodies to thoughtfully select and purchase cloud computing services covering infrastructure, platform, software and specialist cloud services via the Digital Marketplace, of which was created by the Crown Commercial Service in 2014. Importantly, G-Cloud services are divided into three ‘lots’, with our particular services falling under the umbrella of ‘cloud support’. So then, why is this all so exciting for us?
Firstly, being listed on the marketplace is an excellent opportunity to welcome new business and build new connections with organisations in the public sector. Alongside this, approximately £4.8bn of cloud and digital have been obtained by public bodies through G-Cloud since 2012, and almost 45% of this spend has gone directly to SMEs. That’s over £2bn going to companies just like us. More than this, however, One Big Circle was founded less than two years ago, and the fact that we’ve been successful in our first application as such a young company is a glimmering reflection of the innovative, skilled and specialist team that we have. Ultimately, we’re hugely proud that our work and potential has been recognised by a government endowed scheme so early on.