UK Government Procurement Service has signed the G-Cloud Services ii Framework agreement with FCO Services to provide Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) and Specialist Cloud Services.

FCO Services Chief Executive Chris Moxey said the services will provide organisations access to a secure private cloud service that meets the government agenda to reduce costs, improve communication and encourage collaboration.

"Cloud computing is the way forward, it’s a complete change in the way we work. It challenges conventional methods by introducing innovation and enables government departments to utilise the latest evergreen technologies," Moxey said.

"We understand the challenges everyone is facing to achieve efficiency and cost reduction. Our priority is to help the public sector deliver real savings and we are committed to developing the UK Government cloud capability."

The trading fund of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) will be responsible for Cloud services to the UK public sector, across all four service categories.

These services will be securely hosted on FCO Services’ private cloud, called Government Secure Applications Environment (GSAE), which will cater to the needs of government departments that require access, share and develop information and applications securely.

It will facilitate in connecting with users across government on GSI/PSN in the knowledge that no information will be compromised.

GSAE enables customers to get ICT services which are managed and secure; flexible and customisable, based on utilisation; monitored and updated.

"Supplying through G-Cloud is a fundamental part of our strategy to help the public sector find innovative ways to deliver secure core ICT services without prohibitive investment in hardware."

Government Procurement Service Head of Sourcing and Category Management – ICT Marie-Helene Durif said: "The inclusion of FCO Services to the G-Cloud Service ii Framework Agreement will strengthen our offering and provide public sector buyers with a tried and tested route to achieve are value for money."