"The commitment follows a string of setbacks in the government's handling of the largest tech suppliers, especially in the provision of cloud services. In February 2024, The Register reported that officials from the from the Central Digital & Data Office admitted the government's approach to cloud adoption had resulted in: "risk concentration and vendor lock-in that inhibit UK government's negotiating power over the cloud vendors.""
"Speaking to MPs last week, Liz Kendall said the government was addressing the lack of competition among the government's major tech vendors, which had led to concerns about value for money. "We're systematically looking at tech spend across central government and public services [including] negotiating whole government agreements... We're going to start with end user services, like laptops, but also cloud, to make sure we get the best value for money," she told the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee."
The government pledged more whole-government technology procurement deals following a £9 billion agreement with Microsoft, targeting cloud and end-user services such as laptops to secure better value for money. Officials identified a lack of competition among major tech vendors and concerns about value for money. The Central Digital & Data Office acknowledged that prior cloud adoption created risk concentration and vendor lock-in that weakened the government's negotiating power with cloud vendors. Departments need better alignment of requirements to enable centralised spending to leverage purchasing power. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, housing the Government Digital Service and a Digital Commercial Centre of Excellence, intends to emulate the Strategic Partnership Arrangement 2024 to coordinate spending and strengthen commercial negotiations.
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