Google Cloud announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the UK Crown Commercial Service (CCS) to provide cheaper and easier access to Google Cloud services in the UK public sector with the aim of improving cloud innovation and accelerating digital transformation.
The MoU is intended to increase innovation and overhaul digital services, with Google Cloud confirming that qualifying public sector bodies will receive a discount based on aggregated cloud service demand and expected spend.
Elligible UK public sector organisations include government departments, local councils, NHS bodies, public funded broadcasters and charities, providing access to Google Cloud as well as its infrastructure, analytics, AI and collaboration tools.
The MoU also hints at the possibility for access by UK public sector agencies to Google Cloud’s managed and serverless offerings such as its hybrid and multi-cloud system Anthos.
Google Cloud and the CCS will also provide support for UK SMEs that partner with public sector agencies.
Simon Tse, chief executive, CCS said: "CCS provides commercial agreements which help organisations across the entire public sector save time and money on buying everyday goods and services. This MoU with Google Cloud unlocks large-scale business benefits for our customers and demonstrates CCS's role in helping the public sector serve UK citizens in more innovative ways.
"This is a significant milestone for us, as we see the results of our focused investment in cloud services and solutions primed and tailored for the public sector.”