he UK Government’s CloudStore is paving the way for agencies to source products and services in an on-line marketplace.

This “appstore” is an important milestone in the government’s ICT strategy, says UK Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude.

This strategy focuses on delivering agency-wide savings and a technology platform that meets the needs of 21st century organisations.

“Simply stated, purchasing services from CloudStore will be quicker, easier, cheaper and more transparent for the public sector and suppliers alike,” he says.

This latest offering incorporates infrastructure-as-a-service, platform-as-a service, software-as-a-service and other specialist cloud services.

The online appstore offers access to wide-ranging G-cloud services. These services include email, word processing, system hosting, enterprise resource planning, electronic records management, customer relationship management and other office productivity applications.

More than 300 suppliers have already pitched to be included in the G-Cloud service catalogue. Combined, these suppliers offer more than 1,700 services. These services will go through a process of assurance and accreditation.

“Using cloud solutions that have already been secured and accredited will almost always be less expensive,” says Minister Maude. “We will only pay for what we use.”

Service details and pricing information are openly-available on CloudStore – an initiative designed to encourage competition and ensure transparency.

This transparency enables buyers to more readily compare services and suppliers and make informed purchasing decisions.

An open competition policy will create a competitive marketplace, says Minister Maude.

“The G-Cloud framework will constantly encourage service providers to improve the quality and value of the solutions they offer, reducing the cost to taxpayers and suppliers.”

Market competition also offers small-to-medium suppliers of niche products the same opportunities as the bigger organisations.

“We will also know from the outset the cost of the product and, importantly, the cost of exit from contracts that will be no longer than 12 months.”

For suppliers not yet on the G-Cloud, the government plans to re-open its G-cloud framework to applications from new suppliers and products in Spring 2012.