By Neil Cruden, Framework Manager at Telefónica UK

Recently, G-Cloud total framework spend smashed through the £1 billion milestone. So, I thought it was a good time to reflect on the framework as a whole, its uses, trends that are beginning to emerge and the future possibilities for the framework.

Traditionally, the lion’s share of framework spend has been through central government departments and specifically under Lot 4 Specialist Cloud Services. But, now the scope of the consultancy lot has been tightened up, we are beginning to see more significant use of the Infrastructure, Platform and Software-as-a-Service lots across the wider public sector.

Also the Digital Marketplace itself has benefitted from the inclusion of other frameworks as well as G-Cloud. It is now seen as a more useful starting point for customers seeking a wide range of hosting, technical specialist resources and cloud services.

As awareness of the G-Cloud framework improves, and the traditional blockers to cloud adoption are de-mystified, organisations are adopting a ‘cloud-first’ strategy. They will be looking to move their traditionally on-premise services into cloud-based solutions, with support from G-Cloud framework suppliers acting as trusted advisors.

At O2, we are seeing more and more traction through the framework. As the trend continues, and with our own in-house cloud solution offerings, we feel we are perfectly positioned with a credible portfolio of products, services and cloud consultancy, to help customers on their journey towards cloud adoption.

We have also taken an innovative step to make it easier for customers to get the most out of frameworks with O2’s new Public Sector Catalogue. Using our catalogue, you can explore our entire public sector portfolio and even filter by G-Cloud or other frameworks. Now, it’s easier than ever before for our customers to find the solution that’s right for them.

If you’re an O2 customer, get in touch with your account manager to discuss O2’s position on the G-Cloud framework. And to find out more, you can call the O2 public sector team on 0800 955 5590 or email G-Cloud_Framework@telefonica.com