Digital Outcomes/G-Cloud: an update for CCS customers and suppliers

Update 12/04/23

We have taken the decision to extend this agreement by 8 weeks. DOS 5 will now expire on 14 June 2023. The reason for this extension is to give you enough time to finish any procurements you have already started on the Digital Marketplace. The Digital Marketplace will close for new opportunities from the 20 April 2023. After this date you will need to use Public Procurement Gateway to access DOS 6 for your new procurements.

Update 10/10/22

CCS has taken the decision to extend the term of the DOS 5 framework, meaning it will remain open for customers to call off from for a further three months and will now expire on 19 April 2023.

The purpose of this short extension is to ensure that customers can continue to buy the services they need whilst we complete our user testing to ensure that when DOS 6 is launched, it will deliver the best experience for customers and suppliers.

Update 26/08/22

CCS has taken the decision to vary the framework term of G-Cloud 12, meaning it will remain open for customers to call off from for two months after its current end date, until 27 November. 

This will ensure that customers can continue to buy the services they need and will give us the additional time to ensure that when G-Cloud 13 is launched on 9 November, it will deliver the best experience for customers and suppliers.

What is happening?

Following careful consideration, CCS has taken the difficult decision to delay the launch of Digital Outcomes (DOS6) and G-Cloud 13. We have set out, below, the reasons and what this means for customers and suppliers.

UPDATE: G-Cloud 13 will launch on 9 November.

Why are the agreements delayed?

CCS is working to make our agreements easier to use, enabling a better experience for our customers. We are developing a new digital service for buyers to access a number of our commercial agreements, including DOS6 and G-Cloud 13. 

We are focused on ensuring the user testing is informing the final product and this has identified further feedback and insight that we need to consider in more depth before we can roll this out to our customers. We therefore took the decision to delay the go-live of DOS6 and G-Cloud 13. We appreciate that this will be disappointing for many of our customers and suppliers, but are confident that delaying the launch is the right thing to do and will allow us to go live later in the year with an improved digital experience.

Advice for customers and suppliers

What can current/prospective customers and suppliers of DOS and G-Cloud do during this delay?

Both DOS5 and G-Cloud 12 are still live agreements. Any live procurements will continue and any new procurements can start and be seen through to award. Once we have concluded the testing on our new digital service, we will communicate the dates that the new agreements will be launched.

When can customers start to use DOS6 and G-Cloud 13?

We are working hard to deliver improvements to our new digital service that have been identified as part of the user testing and will aim to provide further updates on anticipated go-live dates when these are available. G-Cloud 13 will be launched on 9 November. Our plan is to launch DOS6 later in the year.

When and how will CCS communicate further on this?

Further updates will be posted on the relevant agreements’ webpages and through CCS’s usual channels including customer newsletters. Communications will be issued to suppliers on the respective agreements. 

What does this mean for use of the current Digital Marketplace?

Customers will continue to conduct their procurements on the Digital Marketplace platform while using DOS5 and G-Cloud 12. Suppliers will continue to access the Digital Marketplace for DOS5 and G-Cloud 12. DOS6 and G-Cloud 13 customers will be directed to the relevant platform to procure services when ready.

What to do now

Prospective customers or suppliers of Digital Outcomes and G-Cloud do not need to take any action at this time. 

DOS5 and G-Cloud 12 continue to be available until their published expiry dates. Further updates will be published on the relevant agreement pages in due course.

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