Google Cloud has entered into an agreement with the UK's Crown Commercial Service (CCS) to provide cloud computing to the country's public sector agencies.
The two companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which is an agreement that isn't legally binding.
The purpose of the MoU is to make it easier and more affordable for public sector agencies to use the full range of Google Cloud services for digital transformation. CCS, the UK Cabinet Office executive agency and trading fund, approached Google in 2019 to discuss cloud services.
The result is an agreement that aims to open up the cloud services market to more suppliers to provide the best value for public sector agencies investing in the technology. Google Cloud has even confirmed a discount for qualifying public sector bodies based on aggregated cloud service demand and their expected spend.
The MoU will also include access to Google Cloud's managed and serverless offerings, such as its comprehensive hybrid and multi-cloud services and Anthos.
"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," said Mark Palmer, head of public sector EMEA, Google Cloud.
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"The UK public sector is a major focus for Google Cloud, and this is an opportunity to further support Her Majesty's government in their digital transformation."
According to Google, the fund will allow organisations, such as the NHS and government bodies, to take full advantage of a range of technologies across Google Cloud, including infrastructure, analytics, AI, application modernisation and development, and collaboration services.
The MoU marks the beginning of an expanded relationship between CCS and Google Cloud, according to both organisations, and they will maintain regular dialogue and strategy sessions to ensure the UK public sector has access to Google Cloud's latest innovations.
