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#CSLive2013 - July 2 & 3

By Lizzie Hodgson | 3rd July 2013

Team @Deeson_labs have spent the last two days embedded at Civil Service Live 2013, London Olympia. Being our first time, we viewed the event as an opportunity to connect with new people, carry out some fact finding and attend some of the excellent seminars. But one thing is clear: the last 48 hours have been busy!

So what have we learned?

To keep this nice and neat (and let's face it, easy to read becuase we're all very tired!) I'm going to list the top five things that we at Deeson Labs have garnered from this event:

  1. There is a BIG appetitite for all that is #digitalbydefault: Olympia has been packed with civil servants from across agencies and the UK
  2. The Government and wider public sector is taking GCloud very seriously: We've had talks from Cabinet Office, Government Digital Service and Ministry of Justice to name a few
  3. Many people in Gov are still feeling their way - this is brave new world territory for lots of them so we need to help eliminate their fears in a language they understand
  4. There is still some confusion about how to actually do this: buyers and suppliers need to work together to make sure we refine the cycle in order to both help them identify their need, and as suppliers ensure we're ticking all the right boxes.
  5. GCloud is a HUGE opportunity... And people are genuinely excited about it.

An alternative White Paper

All of the above has helped inform our plans to produce an alternative White Paper. Why alternative? Well, it's only been through talking to delegates at Civil Service Live 2013 that we've become aware of how much help they want in order to better understand what the possibilities are... So not quite a White Paper, but nearly a White Paper. An alternative if you will.

Deeson Online and Acquia have produced an introduction-level document outlining all that is GCloud and Drupal - and some hand-holding on the procurement process. We hope this will help those looking for the right solution and educate them in language they understand (plus bust some myths while we're at it!)

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