What is G-Cloud and How Do You Get on It?

G-Cloud is the UK government's framework for cloud-based services, covering hosting, software, and cloud support. It is operated by Crown Commercial Service (CCS) and accessed by buyers through the Digital Marketplace. For IT suppliers wanting to sell to the public sector, G-Cloud is one of the lowest-friction entry routes, and one of the largest in transactional volume.

What G-Cloud is, and is not

G-Cloud is a framework agreement, not a contract. Being on G-Cloud does not guarantee any work, it means you have been pre-qualified to be bought from. Buyers run a search on the Digital Marketplace, shortlist suppliers, and award call-off contracts directly. There is no individual tender for each opportunity; the framework is the qualification, and the search is the selection.

The three lots

• Lot 1, Cloud Hosting: IaaS and PaaS services.
• Lot 2, Cloud Software: SaaS products.
• Lot 3, Cloud Support: services to design, set up, migrate, or run cloud services.

How the application works

G-Cloud iterations open roughly annually (G-Cloud 13, 14, 15, etc.). When an iteration opens, suppliers submit applications through the Digital Marketplace within a published window, typically 4–6 weeks. The application has two parts: a single company declaration (commercials, terms, compliance), and a service definition for each individual service you want to list.

The service definition is where you win or lose

Each service is described against a fixed set of fields, service features, benefits, pricing, service level agreements, support hours, data centre location, security classification. Buyers search and filter on these fields. A service definition that uses generic, marketing-style language gets buried; one that uses specific, search-friendly terminology surfaces. Treat it as SEO, what would your buyer actually type into the search?

Pricing transparency

G-Cloud requires you to publish your pricing publicly. Many suppliers find this culturally uncomfortable; we would suggest it is an advantage. Public pricing means buyers can shortlist quickly, and the suppliers who win are those whose pricing matches their value proposition, not those who can opaque-negotiate. Publish day rates, unit prices, and any volume discounts up front.

What buyers actually do

Buyers search the Digital Marketplace using filters and free-text keywords, shortlist a small set of suppliers (typically 3–10), and then issue a Statement of Requirements to those suppliers. Suppliers respond with proposals, and the buyer awards under the framework's defined evaluation criteria, usually 60% quality, 40% price, with quality split across service definition fit, technical approach, and team capability.

What to do once you are on

Three things separate suppliers who win regularly on G-Cloud from those who get listed and never sell: (a) they invest in their service definitions and refresh them with every iteration; (b) they respond to call-off opportunities within 48 hours, not at the deadline; and (c) they actively monitor which government departments are using G-Cloud for what, the spend data is published, and it tells you exactly where the opportunities are.