Janet, the UK’s research and education network, announces a framework of eight of the world’s leading cloud and data centre suppliers, in the first dedicated procurement framework of its kind.

This is a wide-ranging framework offering colocation through to cloud infrastructure services, which is available to everyone with a Janet network connection.  In conjunction with the newly formed Janet Brokerage service, this will drive the use of cloud computing across the UK.

Successful suppliers will make it onto the framework in the coming weeks as they sign contracts; Janet Brokerage is already in discussions with a number of universities and other public sector bodies who are keen to use the framework.  More information about framework suppliers will appear on the Brokerage’s website in the coming weeks.

The new framework offers a tangible infrastructure cloud product, offering the flexibility to meet each institution’s unique requirements; it is expected to make substantial savings of both time and of money.

Given the high cost to both the buyer and supply sides of conducting procurements, such collaboration is an important means of ensuring efficient procurement of value-for-money services, which is fully compliant with EU legislation.  It prevents duplication of effort by individual public bodies running procurements for the same services.

Dan Perry, Head of Strategic Business at Janet said:

“We’ve managed to establish a framework, which is agile enough for everyone on the Janet network, in a remarkably short space of time.  Institutions are queuing up to use it, with our support, to help them move to cloud computing and data centres.”

Previous Janet frameworks have saved millions of pounds for the sector.  The telecommunications framework made net savings of £50m for the London Grid for Learning in 2010.

Institutions can access the procurement buyers’ guide and find out more about who made it onto the framework by visitingwww.janetbrokerage.ac.uk/info/CloudFramework