G-Cloud for small businesses: how to get on and win work

G-Cloud for small businesses starts with what G-Cloud is: the government framework public sector buyers use to buy cloud hosting, software and support through the Digital Marketplace.

TenderWorthy is an independent service. We’re not part of G-Cloud, the Digital Marketplace or the Government Commercial Agency.

The current agreement, G-Cloud 15, is the first G-Cloud iteration under the Procurement Act 2023 and is an open framework (gov.uk, 10 August 2026). This guide is part of our wider guide on how to win public sector contracts.

What G-Cloud is

The Digital Marketplace is where public sector organisations find people and technology for digital projects. All public sector organisations can use it, and it lists cloud hosting, software and support alongside digital specialists such as developers and content designers. Suppliers there are on G-Cloud, Digital Outcomes and Specialists, or Crown Hosting Data Centres.

G-Cloud is a framework agreement. Buyers and suppliers still sign a call-off contract for each service bought through it (gov.uk, Selling on the Digital Marketplace, January 2022).

The Government Commercial Agency (GCA) announced G-Cloud 15. GCA was formed on 1 April 2026, bringing together Crown Commercial Service with commercial teams formerly based in the Cabinet Office (GCA annual report, published 15 July 2026). The report calls the trading fund “formerly known as CCS”, so Crown Commercial Service is the name you will see on older material.

What changed with G-Cloud 15

These points come from the GCA announcement of 10 August 2026:

• It is the first G-Cloud iteration to operate under the Procurement Act 2023 and adopt an open framework format.
• It consolidates three previously separate frameworks: Cloud Compute 2 and Lots 1-3 and 4 of G-Cloud 14.
• New and growing suppliers can join during an 18-month re-opening window after launch, and at regular intervals over a four-year term.
• Call-off contracts can run for up to 60 months.
• It uses a “modernised, industry-aligned classification system”, which GCA says helps buyers find suppliers and helps smaller suppliers describe their services.
• GCA says approximately 90% of suppliers are SMEs. That is GCA’s figure, and it is a share of suppliers, not of spend.
• G-Cloud 14 remains operational until 28 October 2026, and call-off contracts under it must be signed by then.

An open framework is one that reopens. The Act lets a buyer award successive frameworks on substantially the same terms (section 49), and gov.uk’s frameworks guidance says new suppliers can be added when one is reopened (para 33). Our guide to open frameworks covers the general rules.

Is G-Cloud for small businesses worth the effort?

Start with fit. gov.uk describes G-Cloud as “cloud software and services”. If you sell cloud software, hosting or support, it is worth reading GCA’s G-Cloud 15 information, starting with the announcement above.

For example, a ten-person firm selling a hosted booking system or managed backup is selling a cloud service. A firm that builds a one-off website for a council is selling a project. The first fits the description. The second may be bought through a tender instead.

Four questions help you decide whether to apply:

• Is what you sell a cloud service that a buyer could take as a service, rather than a one-off build?
• Could you support a call-off contract of up to 60 months? A long contract suits a stable product and can strain a small team.
• Can you show that you comply with the Government’s Cloud Security Principles? Suppliers on G-Cloud agreements are required to (PPN 014, para 25).
• Do you have time to keep your details current and watch for the reopening windows?

If you mainly do bespoke builds, web design or on-site IT support, buyers can also advertise tenders for that work. See web design tenders and IT support tenders.

A place on a framework doesn’t mean work will follow. gov.uk’s frameworks guidance says that in most cases a framework will not commit a buyer to enter into a call-off contract (para 2). Work out what a place is worth to you before you spend time on it, using our bid or no-bid checklist.

Getting ready to apply

Suppliers must apply to sell their services on the Digital Marketplace (gov.uk, Selling on the Digital Marketplace). G-Cloud 15 reopens during its 18-month window and at intervals after that.

Dates, how to apply and what to submit for G-Cloud 15 are set by GCA, and we don’t describe them here. Check the announcement and GCA’s own G-Cloud 15 information before you plan.

You can prepare for any procurement under the Act. In a competitive tender, buyers must obtain confirmation that suppliers have registered on the Central Digital Platform (platform guidance para 60). Register and complete your core supplier information in advance. The government’s supplier guide says registration is only needed when you want to bid, that you can store your core business details for use in multiple bids, and that you can update them as needed. Check them before each bid.

Then security. PPN 014, published on 17 February 2025, says suppliers on G-Cloud agreements are required to demonstrate they comply with the Government’s Cloud Security Principles (para 25). Cyber Essentials isn’t a requirement of the commercial agreement, but suppliers are encouraged to state if they hold it (para 26). See Cyber Essentials for government contracts.

After you’re on: call-offs and buyer checks

Each purchase is a call-off contract, which under G-Cloud 15 can run for up to 60 months.

PPN 014 also says that when awarding G-Cloud call-offs, in-scope organisations should assure themselves that the supplier is managing relevant cyber risks effectively before making a contract award (para 27). In scope means central government departments, their executive agencies, non-departmental public bodies and NHS bodies (para 3).

How buyers search, shortlist and choose follows the framework’s call-off rules. Check the buyer guidance on the Digital Marketplace.

The practical point for a small supplier: the buyer’s check happens at call-off, after you are on the framework. For in-scope buyers, being on G-Cloud doesn’t remove their own check of how you manage cyber risk.

G-Cloud and open tenders: watch both

Buyers can use frameworks to buy, so some work never appears as an open tender notice. Other IT work does. In the week to 10 Oct 2026 we saw 30 live IT services notices and 11 software notices, and 72 of 470 notices mentioned frameworks or dynamic purchasing systems (as of 10 Oct 2026; how we count).

Frameworks are one route among several, and a small firm can work both. Use the framework for what fits a cloud service, and watch the open notices for what doesn’t.

See live IT services tenders and software tenders. For where else to look, see our comparison of UK tender portals.

Missed the window?

G-Cloud 15 reopens at intervals during its four-year term, so a missed launch isn’t the end of the route. The announcement says suppliers can join during the 18-month re-opening window after launch and at regular intervals after that. Check GCA’s pages for the dates.

In the meantime you can bid for open tenders, or work for a larger supplier that is already on the framework. Once it starts, a weekly list of live notices in your trade keeps the open-tender route in front of you while you wait.

Your next step

Tell us your trade and postcode to join the free weekly list of live tenders, starting soon. On Pro (£49/month), notices that fit your trade and area are checked against what each states about insurance, certifications and location, and you get an email each morning on days with new matches.