CloudStore update to be released in April, says G-Cloud boss

Second version designed to be better at keeping pace with changes in technology

An update to the government's CloudStore will be released in April, according to G-Cloud programme director Chris Chant.

The CloudStore is a key part of the G-Cloud strategy and was launched two weeks ago by the government.

It is a service for public sector bodies that lists 1,700 cloud-based products and services from 257 different vendors. The government hopes the store will save the UK £120m by 2014.

Speaking at the Public Sector Expo at Olympia yesterday, Chant said that there had been 20,000 unique visits to the CloudStore, 250,000 page views and 100,000 tweets.

"We know people are looking at the CloudStore, we know people are interested in it and now we know people are buying from it," he said.

Chant was referring to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), which became the first public authority to make a purchase from the CloudStore on Monday.

He added that version two of the CloudStore will be made available in April to keep up with changes in technology.

"Version two will have new suppliers and new services which are updated on a monthly basis. This is to address the main problem that public organisations have always had in keeping pace with the changes in technology," he said.

Chant said he was not surprised that it was several days before the first transaction given the complexity of buying such services and products.

"This isn't like buying a book from Amazon. It is a complex process. That is why we will be addressing public sector organisations, financial directors and CIOs on how the CloudStore is intended to work," he said.