MARKET ANALYSIS

Preparing for G-Cloud 14

Analyse market trends from historical G-Cloud frameworks to qualify your bid and plan your framework strategy.

1st March 2024
10 minutes

Introduction

With the G-Cloud 14 ITT open since the 19th February, we've prepared this guide to help suppliers qualify whether this framework is the right fit for your business and plan your strategy for the year ahead.

Inside, you will find the information you need to:

  • Qualify your G-Cloud bid: Market size the opportunity with YoY spend data broken down by framework lot, supplier size and buyer department.
  • Plan your go to market calendar: Use quarterly G-Cloud spending data to time your approach and strike while the iron is hot.
  • Identify upcoming opportunities: Leverage leading tactics to target top buyers, suppliers and contracts in G-Cloud 14.

The data in this report is informed by CCS spend data and reported call-off contracts captured via the Stotles platform.

Section one

Qualify your G-Cloud 14 bid

Since the inception of G-Cloud in 2012, overall spending through the framework has increased year on year. We've visualised the growing popularity of the framework in the graph below.

As the 2023/24 FY has not ended, this year's data displayed in the graph does not represent a full year of G-Cloud spend. When the final spend data is released, we can expect this year to demonstrate continued growth from [GATE] 2022/2023.

While the overall direction of this spending trend is striking, suppliers looking to qualify your bid must understand the specific lots, suppliers and departments driving this spending growth to make informed decisions about your G-Cloud 14 bid.

Identify relevant framework lots

The G-Cloud framework is split into four lots, each built for procuring specific cloud-based products and services.

Whether you're an enterprise or an SME, identifying the right lot can significantly enhance your chances of success. Here’s how to align your offerings with the right opportunity:

  1. Cloud Hosting (Lot 1): Ideal for suppliers offering Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) or Platform as a Service (PaaS). This lot favours enterprise suppliers ready to provide robust cloud infrastructure.
  2. Cloud Software (Lot 2): Tailored for SaaS applications, including CRMs, ERPs, and EPRs, built atop cloud infrastructure. An accessible path for SME suppliers to enter the market.
  3. Cloud Support (Lot 3): Focuses on services essential for digital transformation, such as migration, deployment, and ongoing support. A highly competitive lot for SMEs, due to its critical role in modernising government systems.
  4. End-To-End Cloud Services (Lot 4): A specialised framework for a select group of enterprise-level suppliers, offering comprehensive cloud solutions.

Below, we have analysed spending through the first three G-Cloud lots to identify which represents the most valuable opportunity for suppliers. The chart below reveals that Lot 3 (Cloud Support) dominates expenditure, capturing 60% of the total spend.

This surge in spending is driven by the government’s urgent need to modernise legacy systems with cutting-edge cloud services, presenting a remarkable opportunity for suppliers specialising in cloud support.

Stotles Tip

You can use Stotles upcoming framework module to track relevant contracts emerging from G-Cloud and deeply qualify the type of opportunities your company could access next year.

Sign up to our framework waitlist

Market size opportunities for SME and Enterprise suppliers.

Compared to alternative routes to market, G-Cloud has historically represented a competitive route to market for suppliers of all sizes, bridging the gap between small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and larger enterprise providers.

In the chart below, we zoom into G-Cloud 13 spending to break down the opportunities different size suppliers can expect from G-Cloud 14. In this recent iteration of the framework, over 4500 of 5000 listed suppliers (90%) were classified as SME's by CCS.

This analysis of G-Cloud 13 spending reveals critical insights:

  • SME access: SMEs secure 42% of G-Cloud 13 spending, outperforming their wider performance in the public sector, where they are typically awarded around 27% of contracts. This highlights the framework as a viable route to market for SMEs.
  • Enterprise advantage: With 10% of listed enterprise suppliers capturing 56% of the spend, their success rate is significantly higher than the average SME company. This indicates enterprises' efficiency in winning contracts, contrasting with the crowded SME segment.
  • Market Saturation: Although SMEs benefit from a considerable portion of the spending, companies in this category represent over 90% of suppliers listed on G-Cloud 13. This points to intense competition and market saturation for SMEs.

In conclusion, the intense saturation of the G-Cloud market means that simply being listed on the framework is no longer enough to guarantee success, especially for SMEs.

Securing your listing is merely the initial step and with over 5000 competitors each year, suppliers must employ proactive sales and marketing strategies to distinguish themselves from the competition.

Stotles Tip

We've curated a list of all G-Cloud 13 suppliers, so you can easily scope out which of your direct competitors you can expect to come up against on G-Cloud 14.

Identify G-Cloud 13 suppliers

Pinpoint which sectors are spending the most

To help further qualify your bid, below we provide a breakdown of which government departments are driving the most spending through G-Cloud frameworks.

Overwhelmingly, we found that the majority (77%) of G-Cloud spending emerges from buyers within Central Government.

77%

Central Government (£12.6bn)

8%

Health (£1.3bn)

6%

Local Government (£1bn)

9%

Other (£1.8bn)

Central Government leads in overall spending due to higher expenditure per contract. However, with a total of £4.1 billion spent across other public sector authorities, the framework offers a substantial market opportunity for suppliers targeting specific departments (healthcare, local government, or blue light services) alongside Central Government.

Stotles Tip

With the Stotles platform you can dive deeper into the specific contracts awarded through different departments across the public sector. To qualify the contracts you could win on G-Cloud 14, sign up to Stotles today.

Get started with Stotles
Section Two

Plan your go-to-market calendar

So you've been listed on G-Cloud 14 - what's next? Simply waiting won't bring contracts to your doorstep. In this section, we analyse the most active quarters for G-Cloud spending to help you plan your go to market strategy. This knowledge is crucial for timing your bids effectively and enhancing your chances of securing contracts

Use spend data to anticipate contract spending

Visualised in the graph below, we found that Q4 (January-March) of the government's financial year has historically represented the busiest time for G-Cloud spending. This is explained by the fact that public sector buyers are using up final budgets before they reset in April.

The lowest spend occurs in Q2 (July-September). The summer period is when the public sector slows down due to school holidays and parliamentary recess, resulting in reduced procurement activity through frameworks like G-Cloud.


Suppliers should use this spending data to help plan your approach. In slow periods (Q2), you should be proactive by building relationships with buyers and identifying early buying signals to win contracts in Q4, when opportunities are more likely to come to market.

Stotles Tip

You can use the Stotles platform to identify relevant expiring contracts and forecast your future G-Cloud opportunities.

Speak to sales
Section Three

Identify upcoming opportunities

Now we have highlighted key trends to help qualify your bid and key dates to plan your calendar, this section highlights specific tactics you can use in your GTM strategy. We highlight top buyers, suppliers and contracts you can target to surface potential opportunities in G-Cloud 14.

Target top G-Cloud buyers

To start, we spotlight this year's top G-Cloud spenders, visualised in the chart below. Consistent with earlier findings, central government authorities dominate the top 10 buyers list. For enterprise central government suppliers, you can use this list to understand which central authorities you could win work with via G-Cloud 14.


For SME's, many of the Central Government buyers above will be out of reach. To provide a more helpful ranking for suppliers in this category, below we have listed the top 50 buyers outside of Central Government.

These 50 public sector buyers accounted for 9% of total G-Cloud spend in 2023/2024, representing a significant opportunity for new market entrants.

BuyerSectorG-Cloud spend 2023/24
Transport for LondonLocal Government£15,585,229
Barts Health NHS TrustHealth£12,263,742
Northern Health and Social Care TrustHealth£12,140,980
Kent County CouncilLocal Government£10,603,855
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation TrustHealth£10,096,877
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS TrustHealth£9,032,982
HSC Business Services Organisation (Health and Social Care Northern Ireland)Health£6,805,361
South Eastern Health and Social Care TrustHealth£6,695,079
Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustHealth£6,588,555
PeabodyHousing Association£6,342,745
Open UniversityEducation£4,816,293
Cambridge University PressEducation£4,650,408
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation TrustHealth£4,508,901
Nursing and Midwifery CouncilHealth£4,506,432
West Mercia Police and Crime CommissionerBlue Light£4,413,907
Royal Free London NHS Foundation TrustHealth£4,346,497
University of SheffieldEducation£4,252,763
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS TrustHealth£4,047,084
Westminster City CouncilLocal Government£3,886,072
Somerset CouncilLocal Government£3,816,524
Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation TrustHealth£3,768,279
Birmingham City CouncilLocal Government£3,667,775
Aberdeen City CouncilLocal Government£3,612,892
Oxford Health NHS Foundation TrustHealth£3,474,028
Thames Valley PoliceBlue Light£3,472,750
East London NHS Foundation TrustHealth£3,461,699
Central and North West London NHS Foundation TrustHealth£3,425,830
Greater Manchester PoliceBlue Light£3,253,834
London Borough of Enfield CouncilLocal Government£3,111,439
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)Education£3,083,701
Police Digital ServiceBlue Light£3,065,273
NHS North West London Integrated Care BoardHealth£2,978,483
Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS TrustHealth£2,942,252
Mayors Office for Policing and CrimeBlue Light£2,923,316
Digital Policing PortfolioBlue Light£2,875,859
Lancashire County CouncilLocal Government£2,860,352
Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHSHealth£2,769,360
Bromford Housing Group LimitedHousing Association£2,723,982
Derbyshire ConstabularyBlue Light£2,652,685
University of East AngliaEducation£2,623,423
London Borough of Islington CouncilLocal Government£2609544
Imperial College Healthcare NHS TrustHealth£2,606,401
London Borough of HackneyLocal Government£2,604,916
South Gloucestershire CouncilLocal Government£2,586,928
London Borough of Ealing CouncilLocal Government£2,499,400
South Lanarkshire CouncilLocal Government£2,482,045
Airedale NHS Foundation TrustHealth£2,477,902
Sovereign Housing Association LimitedHousing Association£2,471,818
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care BoardHealth£2,426,814
London Borough of Camden CouncilLocal Government£2,407,392
Top 50 buyers on G-Cloud across wider public sector  
Stotles Tip

Stotles customers leverage the Stotles platform to easily identify the top buyers for their specific market niches, based off relevant signals in contract information.

Identify your target accounts

Track top suppliers

Another method suppliers use to win public sector contracts, is to identify top suppliers in the market and target their contracts from either competitive or partner angles.

To demonstrate how you can incorporate this into your strategy, below we have listed the top ten G-cloud suppliers from this financial year. We have listed the top ten suppliers across this financial year. We found that these suppliers account for 23% of the total G-Cloud spend for 2023/24, representing a substantial oligopoly hold on this framework.


For enterprise suppliers hoping to win contracts through this framework, this top ten supplier list may represent your major competition.

For SME's, you can use this list to identify top G-Cloud beneficiaries to approach with potential partnership opportunities. For example, Softcat (the fifth most successful supplier) is a Value Added Reseller which specialises in re-selling other suppliers' products on their behalf, and may be approachable for partnership opportunities.

Stotles Tip

Stotles customers use our platform to identify expiring contracts belonging to their competitors and partners, and use this information to target downstream opportunities.

Speak to sales

Target upcoming contracts

In this final section, we demonstrate how you can capitalise on expiring G-Cloud 13 contracts to target upcoming opportunities in G-Cloud 14.

These expiring contracts often signal potential renewals or new projects. By leveraging these insights, proactive suppliers can predict future business and align their go-to-market (GTM) strategies with forthcoming contracts.

Utilising the Stotles platform, we've identified five major contracts from G-Cloud 13 due to expire during G-Cloud 14's tenure, showcasing potential opportunities.

Contract NameBuyer NameSupplier NameValueExpiry Date
Bichard 7 SupportMinistry of JusticeMade Tech£6,263,811Dec, 2025
Regulatory Platform PartnerCare Quality ComissionKPMG£5,833,333 Jun, 2025
Kyndryl Cloud Managed ServicesHM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)KYNDRYL UK CLG LIMITED£4,412,559Sept, 2024
CRM system and supporting technologiescapitalEsourcingHitachi Solutions Europe Ltd£3,400,000Jan, 2026
Borders & Trade - Live ServicesHM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)MASTEK (UK) LTD£21,000,000Oct, 2024
Stotles Tip

Stotles customers use upcoming contract expiries to forecast future opportunities and align their business over upcoming renewal opportunities. Use the Stotles app to identify contract expiries relevant to your business.

Get started today
Section Three

Take the next steps with Stotles

In this report, we have demonstrated best practices for suppliers looking to qualify and plan their G-Cloud 14 strategy.

Stotles is your essential companion in this journey. You can leverage our platform to gain comprehensive insights into G-Cloud contracts, monitor buyers, partners, and competitors, connect with key decision-makers, and streamline your outreach efforts. Get started today with the links below.

Accelerate your G-Cloud sales