HMRC Pens Landmark G-Cloud Deal

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is to become the first government department to benefit from G-Cloud services on the Public Services Network (PSN).

The department claimed it was to save £1 million a year by using Skyscape services for cloud storage. HMRC said the deal would also help it move forward with the deployment of the Government End User Device Strategy, which is designed to incorporate a wider range of client machines.

From now until early Spring 2013, HMRC will move the data it currently stores in local offices onto Skyscape infrastructure.

Reaching for the Skyscape

“The Skyscape contract is a major step for HMRC in moving away from traditional ways of working with large service providers,” said HMRC CIO Phil Pavitt. “And it’s a great example of how we’re exploring smarter, more innovative solutions that make life simpler for us and help us provide a better deal for our customers.”

Barry Murphy, technology partner at PwC, said the deal provided proof that “organisations are getting increasingly comfortable with the security of cloud computing.”

“Getting the technology in place is just the first leg of the process.  The biggest challenge is the behavioural change that needs to follow,” he added. “Too often the failure of new systems is blamed on the technology when more often it’s because people haven’t adapted to them.”

This is the second deal Skyscape has won under the G-Cloud framework. Earlier this month, it signed a contract with the Government Digital Service (GDS) as the primary contractor for hosting GOV.UK, which is set to become the single domain for government services and a replacement for Directgov and Business Link from next month.

“This is an important contract for G-Cloud, showing that the UK public sector is ready to embrace low cost utility cloud services,” Denise McDonagh, director of the G-Cloud programme, said at the time.

In August, McDonagh defended the G-Cloud, in response to negative feedback surrounding the government’s major IT initiative. She rebuffed suggestions that G-Cloud deals were going to traditional government suppliers, instead of SMEs. McDonagh noted that 75 percent of the spend through that framework was with SMEs and the latest deal with Skyscape will only support her argument.

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