Business Cloud Summit 2012 - Cloudstore discussions

I had the great pleasure of speaking at the Business Cloud Summit 2012, held at the Hilton London Metropole last week. I was invited to speak on the subject of the moment, procurement via the HM Government Cloudstore. Along with my fellow invitee, Peter Edwards from the British Council, I spent half an hour explaining how the Cloudstore has helped to facilitate the purchase of a new CMS for the University of Hertfordshire and the cost & time savings that this has helped me realise.

I have always been a huge advocate for any system/process that helps to streamline my day-today working. The Cloudstore has achieved this and also has the potential to help with other projects outside of my remit. However, the most surprising part of the day for me was the 'straw poll' held during the session to see who has also used it. In a room of around 100 people only 3 held their hands up...

I think what this highlights is not that the Cloudstore is a difficult tool to use or that there isn't a very dedicated team behind it. It highlights that this is such a change in the way that procurement processes are run within central & local government and HE that there is still work to do on promoting it! The Cloudstore is there to help facilitate an easy procurement process, cut red tape and save us time and money. It's a no-brainer that if you can use it, you should use it!

I will happily continue to promote the Cloudstore as the first stop for procurement I just hope that it gains the recognition and promotion it deserves!

Images from the event can be seen below:


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

G-Cloud Procurement process, an idiots guide

Prior to joining the University of Hertfordshire I had herd a few rumours that the HM Government were looking at a more streamlined procurement process. At the time it was mildly interesting but not that relevant to my day-to-day working.

However, having suddenly needed to make a purchase of a new CMS the G-Cloud immediately sprung to mind and I was rather relieved to find that it was now working! Having run through the internal procurement processes at the University we have now just completed the purchase of a new supplier via the G-Cloud Framework Agreement. I am happy to announce that the University of Hertfordshire will be implementing a new website within the Squiz Matrix CMS.

The procurement process has been very straight forward and the use of the G-Cloud Framework Agreement has been a real life saver. Prior to the project beginning I agreed to write a blog post on the experience and the process of making a purchase. This is now live on the HM Government G-Cloud website, the link to the posting is below if you would like a read...

They have also now provided a list of eligible organisations who can take advantage of this fantastic service so if you do have a large procurement coming up it's definitely worth considering!

• Kris Collins from University of Hertfordshire explains how easy getting a new CMS can be