Through CloudStore, part of the UK government’s G-Cloud framework, the UK public sector will now be able to deploy Salesforce’s cloud computing applications and platform.

G-Cloud ii, the second version of the government’s G-Cloud CloudStore which launched on Friday, now offers services from 458 suppliers – double the amount of when it first launched in February. Included among those are Successfactors Inc, BT Global Services, IBM UK and Capgemini UK.

“Now, with salesforce.com joining the G-Cloud framework, the UK public sector can harness the power of social and mobile cloud computing to innovate and transform,” said Salesforce EMEA chairman Steve Garnett. “The UK government now has a tremendous opportunity to end the era of IT projects that run over budget and behind schedule. That’s great news for the UK taxpayer.”

Absent from the new list of suppliers joining the framework is Amazon Web Services (AWS), which was also missing from the original list of vendors during G-Cloud’s initial launch.

“Well-known cloud sellers like Amazon are available from a range of resellers or as part of other services across the different lots, alongside competing products, which enable buyers to compare and determine the best products for their needs,” a Cabinet Office spokesman told Information Age.

Since the first version of CloudStore was launched, public sector organisations have been able to buy a range of IT services on a ‘pay-as-you-go’ basis. This provides the government with more flexibility when deploying approved cloud-based applications and services that can be shared across departments.

According to a statement by the Cabinet Office, there have been 99 purchases of IT services through the CloudStore, totalling more than £2.2 million, with 70% of this spend with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Around 3,000 new services have been added to the G-Cloud catalogue, the Cabinet Office said, including anti-spam, agile tools, simulation and training and end-user device service packages.

“This second G-Cloud procurement builds on the success of the first. It will continue the transformation in how the public sector buys, manages and delivers IT services, and how suppliers work with government, driving greater efficiency and savings for the taxpayer,” said minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude.

“As well as focusing on efficiency and reducing costs, the government is committed to supporting economic growth. Part of this is about levelling the playing field for small and medium-sized firms by making it simpler, quicker and cheaper for them to compete for government business,” Maude added.