G-Cloud 8 Tender Start Date

Here at Advice Cloud Towers we have been having some debate as to the start date of the next round of G-Cloud. Cleverly called G-Cloud 8 or GC8 to the initiated. 

 

Here at Advice Cloud Towers we have been having some debate as to the start date of the next round of G-Cloud. Cleverly called G-Cloud 8 or GC8 to the initiated. 

 

One of the main reasons we want to know is so that we can advise our clients looking to submit for GC8 when to plan their workloads. Now our services are estimated to take away about 10 working days effort from a new provider to G-Cloud Lot 3 SAAS submission (our speciality alongside Lot 4 SCS) so this is pretty key to them and us.

 

If you need to use Sales, Marketing, Technical & Security specialists plus third parties (esp if you are a Multi-tenant proper Cloud SAAS provider) talent to get through the 35 day allowed tender period then if you are an SME you will either – not be able to do much meaningful client work during this time, or be working long and late evenings. No matter what the good folk at Crown Commercial Services (CCS) & GDS say about how easy the process is, we consistently get flummoxed & frustrated companies coming to us who have found the whole process mind bogglingly complex and impossible to complete.

 

For the record we think it’s very easy to get listed but not so easy to get a useable / buyable submission on. Not to mention all the other below the iceberg stuff around maximising your investment & opportunity with post award marketing and execution.

 

It’s also one of the many questions we get when companies are looking to outsource their application. When is its due and when will I be able to trade. So we have compiled the following to allow you the reader to make an educated guess and plan your staffs absence from work (or not if you wish to join this merry bunch who used us to deliver their submissions on time, on budget to required quality with very little resource hogged).

 

CCS have announced recently on the Pipeline that G-Cloud 8 is being considered for May 2016.

Now some of you may have looked at horror at the above timetable with very good reason. Many of our clients are resellers / service providers of large vendors such as Avaya, Alcatel Lucent, Cisco & more who have a Cloud business arm alongside traditional “product”. CCS have been actively engaging the market to suggest that TP2 (RM1054s replacement) is going to be opened G-Cloud style to the market thereby punching the usual suspect large resellers firmly in the (ahem) wallet. To misquote Seinfield – “No Pass Through for You!”

 

So it makes sense to take a look at previous iterations of G-Cloud to see the total days it took from OJEU (technical name for the Tender submission period opening) launching to close.

 

So on average you’re looking at a total tender period of 85 days from open to go live.

The Digital Marketing team usually like to run their engagement days (usually via the ever excellent TechUK) just before or at the start of the tender period and run them nationally. Now to be clear – there is no need to go to them all. You will learn nothing new as under the EU procurement rules all bidders must be treated equally and fairly. Don’t bother- we don’t!

Working on the premise that as G-Cloud 6 expires on 1^st August, its replacement G-Cloud 8 must be live on the Digital Marketplace by then. Given that school holidays will be firmly in place as well I would imagine that no-one in Aviation House (unless they’re contractors with a desire for divorce and weekend visitation) will be interested in a mid-August go-live.

Consequently we’ve done the maths so you don’t have to:

However there are more variables at play here. The much lauded for ease of getting onto Digital Outcomes & Specialists framework has suffered something of a delay. It was due to go-live 29^th Feb but is currently aimed at Mid – April. Many Lot 4 G-Cloud suppliers are on DOS so are following this with baited breath given that many more delays on this will hit their pipeline of work and ability to resource G-Cloud 8.

Also at a recent event the ever helpful (and we mean this, we love these guys) Digital Marketplace team suggested Mid May for GC8. Looking at the above timetable that would mean G-Cloud 8’s tender being run in record time. Not unachievable but still to lop up to two weeks off of the standard 83-85 day timetable is still pushing things.

Ok so get to the blinking point I hear you breathe – when do you think it will be out. Ideally it would be on or about 9^th May. However that’s not mid-May. According to Sod’s law it will be…

Why? Because that’s also Farthing jnr #2’s due date. There, I’ve managed to get that into conversation again. It really does help soothe the nerves you now.  So what do you think? If it is the 22^nd is Claud or Claudia a suitable name for a baby?

Footnote. If you really don’t fancy doing the heavy lifting and wish to join our merry band of successful companies not only listed but (in the main) selling on G-Cloud the please contact us now. Save your company 10 working days (as opposed to 2 when using our services).