AWS to host UK government's Crown Marketplace

Amazon Web Services has been chosen as the cloud provider of a portal for the UK government which will enable government departments and local councils to procure goods and services online.
The new government portal is being built by a small public sector-focused development team called The Dextrous Web, which - in consultation with the Cabinet Office’s procurement body, the Crown Commercial Service - decided that AWS would be best for the project.
Hosting the primary components of the Crown Marketplace will likely give the company an advantage when it comes to later stages of the project, which may prove lucrative over the long term.
All Web Services
The contract with The Dextrous Web, first reported by The Telegraph, is thought to have been agreed last September, but has only now been made public.
Facing criticism that the government was more likely to choose larger suppliers, Oliver Dowden, the minister for implementation, said last April: "This government is listening to the business community and is committed to leveling the playing field for smaller suppliers to win work in the public sector.”
When it comes to data center and cloud services, however, the trend has skewed heavily towards the dominant players in the market - mainly AWS and Microsoft's Azure.
“Ignore me if you’re going to get offended - Amazon is probably better at hosting than you,” the chief digital and information officer (CDIO) of the UK’s Ministry of Justice, Tom Read, said last year.
He added: “We get a lot of [people] challenging us about procurement - why can you just buy Azure or AWS, don’t you need to be fair and let everybody in the market come to the table? - And it’s really hard, because the answer is ‘no, they’re better.’”
This approach has cost some small companies dearly. In 2017, Salford-based cloud provider DataCentred shut down after its largest customer, the tax collection agency Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, moved to AWS.
“This is a clear case of government saying one thing yet doing another. They say they want to support small businesses but they give the contacts to the big boys and let small businesses go bust," Member of Parliament Margaret Hodge, the former chair of parliament’s public accounts committee, told Sky News at the time.
“They say they want to be tough on tax avoidance but they use our money to give contracts to some of the world’s biggest and most immoral tax avoiders. Surely this is blatant hypocrisy.”
The Everything Store
The US government is pushing forward with a system similar to the Crown Marketplace, with plans for an e-commerce portal that works like Amazon.com, but is intended for government agencies, to be launched in late 2019.
Last year, The Guardian revealed that senior Amazon executive Anne Rung privately advised a top official at the General Services Administration (GSA) about the project, suggested candidates to fill a government position, and inquired whether the official, Mary Davie, knew anyone who could run Amazon Business’s federal government division.
Rung was previously the chief US acquisition officer under the Obama administration.
Section 801 of the National Defense Authorization Act (which has been informally dubbed the “Amazon amendment") was passed last year to mandate the creation of the e-commerce system, with government acquisitions of commercial products thought to represent a $53 billion market
source datacenterdynamics
Industry: Data Centre & Cloud News

Latest Jobs
-
- CIAM Architect Azure B2C
- N/A
- N/A
-
We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Azure B2C CIAM Architect for a contract starting on Jan 2024. As an Azure B2C CIAM Architect, you will be responsible for designing, implementing, and deploying an new Azure B2C Solution . Responsibilities: Design and implement an Azure B2C-based CIAM solution that meets the needs of our clients organization. Maintain and support the Azure B2C-based CIAM solution. Provide training and support to our employees on the use of the CIAM solution. Background designing, implementing, and maintaining CIAM solutions. Experience with cloud-based identity and access management (IAM) solutions. Experience with OAuth, OpenID Connect,and SAML. Excellent written and verbal communication skills
-
- Senior IAM Consultant
- Germany
- Upto €110,000 depending on level of position
-
Senior IAM Consultant is needed to help lead and deploy IAM Projects for this expand IAM Consultancy The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of IAM concepts and technologies, as well as experience in deploying and managing complex IAM solutions. Responsibilities Lead the deployment of IAM solutions for our clients Work with clients to understand their IAM requirements and design solutions that meet their needs Configure and implement IAM solutions using best practices Integrate IAM solutions with other enterprise systems Provide training and support to clients on the use of IAM solutions Stay up-to-date on the latest IAM technologies and trends We are looking for an experieneced IAM Consutlatn with: Strong understanding of IAM concepts and technologies,including identity lifecycle management,access control,and authentication Experience in deploying and managing complex IAM solutions Experience with IAM products and solutions,such as SailPoint,One Identity Manager,and Azure Active Directory Excellent communication and interpersonal skills Ability to work independently and as part of a team Fluent in German Candidates witll need to live and have the right to work within Germany to be considered.
-
- Security Architect - SOC Design - Outside IR35 London. SC / DV cleared
- London
- Outside IR35
-
Security Architect - With in-depth SOC Design experience needed for Outside IR35 London. SC / DV cleared. 6 month rolling Immediate Experience delivering technical Security Architecture design / assurance of security design with mobile network experience. HLD / LLD Current SC Clearance a must. Willingness to undertake DV. London 3 days a week Immediately interviewing.
-
- Cyber Security Risk Consultant. UK. Hybrid. Home | Work balance
- United Kingdom
- N/A
-
Cyber Security Consultancy - done the right way. Seeking a passionate Cyber Security Risk Consultant who enjoys helping clients make a different to their business. Warning- if you want a large, slow moving, high politics, high travel security consultancy that demands their a pound of flesh this is NOT for you. A successful individual will have experience working with clients to identify business cyber security risk. This is a remote first opportunity which means you will spend the majority of your time working remotely. You will however spend some time meeting clients as well as meeting up with the team on a monthly basis.. Some of the nice to have certifications. CRISC, ISO27001 Lead implementer, CISA, CISM, CISSP Along with dedicated training budgets, unlimited holiday and a structured career path, this opportunity will give a much needed work life balance. Unable to offer Visa sponsorship now or in the future. Apply and book a call in my diary with the below