UKCloud signs MoU with CCS to provide public sector with discounted cloud pricing

UKCloud has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) to ensure public sector IT buyers can access preferential pricing on its products and services.

The public sector-focused cloud provider said the MoU will ensure it can continue to build on the success it has had to-date with supporting “hundreds” of digital transformation projects, while supporting IT buyers with their multi-cloud adoption plans.

This is in keeping with the One Government Cloud Strategy (OGCS), which is a joint initiative involving CCS, the Cabinet Office and the Government Digital Service (GDS) designed to promote the cross-functional adoption of cloud technologies in the public sector.

This includes encouraging public sector organisations to source cloud services from a variety of suppliers in the interests of avoiding supplier lock-in.

Simon Hansford, CEO of UKCloud, said: “We have a demonstrable track record of delivering exceptional value for money to our public sector customers, and this agreement will further encourage organisations of all shapes and sizes to recognise that a national multi-cloud provider like UKCloud is a safe, sustainable and affordable option to support and accelerate their digital transformation aspirations.”

The UKCloud MoU is the latest in a series of announcements from CCS about similar deals it has struck in recent months with various hyperscale cloud firms, including Google, Microsoft and Oracle, in support of the OGCS.

In an accompanying statement, UKCloud said it fully supports the aims of the OGCS, which are in keeping with its own view that a “diverse and competitive market” ensures public sector buyers get “sustainable innovation” and “value for money”.

“This agreement acknowledges that the need for public sector organisations to mitigate the risk of technology lock-in as well as the concentration risk of becoming overly dependant on a single provider can be facilitated by a multi-cloud approach and strategy,” the company added.

Government chief commercial officer, Gareth Rhys Williams, said the UKCloud agreement incorporates key elements of the OGCS, and is in-keeping with GDS and CCS’s long-standing Cloud First policy.

“It shows the government’s determination to adopt value for money technologies which improve services and ensure government departments and their staff have the digital tools they need, now and in the future,” he added.

UKCloud, meanwhile, said the agreement is also a sign of the government’s “renewed support” for the Crown Campus joint venture set up by the Cabinet Office and Ark Data Centres in 2015.

This initiative was initially setup to provide public sector organisations with a centralised colocation hub to house their non-cloud datacentre services, and has since expanded to provide a hosting location for IT providers who serve the public sector, including UKCloud.

“UKCloud is the only cloud services provider involved in the One Government Cloud Strategy to operate within the Crown Campus, which enables UKCloud to offer native connectivity to secure government networks and options for the delivery of multi-cloud services at higher classification levels,” the company said in a statement.