Government launches CloudStore

Government launches CloudStore

The public sector can now, at long last, obtain cloud computing services on a pay as you go basis via the government’s new CloudStore.

The Government Procurement Service has revealed the launch of the CloudStore, whose name has been changed form its working title, The Government Application Store. The hub will offer the public sector a chance to use 1,700 cloud services from 258 suppliers, ranging from infrastructure as a service and specialist cloud services, to software as a service and platform as a service.

The Cabinet Office was keen to point out the advantages of the services, which will, it claimed, help public sector organisations to use cloud services as they need them rather than incurring the cost of developing them in-house. The kinds of services available include system hosting, email, customer relationships management and electronic records management.

Francis Maude of the Cabinet Office explained, "The launch of CloudStore is an important milestone in the Government's ICT strategy to deliver savings and an IT system fit for the 21st century.” The spokesperson added that the new hub will offer public sector organisations a transparent and easy way to procure cloud services.

The government’s G-Cloud blog has been tracking the progress of the launch and claims that 50 per cent of the cloud service providers are small and medium sized enterprises. The blog explained that the CloudStore has been developed by one particular SME, based in the UK, called SolidSoft. It is, meanwhile, hosted on the Microsoft Azure platform.

Businesses looking to move services into the cloud, should evaluate the performance of their existing network and consider setting up a leased line or MPLS network.