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Guidance for sourcing cloud services

This guidance helps government departments and agencies be fair to all suppliers when sourcing cloud services.

Advertising for cloud services providers

You should:

  • set out technical or functional requirements, without referring to vendor or brand-specific services
  • identify any constraints in the procurement activity, and
  • remain open to receiving responses that can meet these requirements and constraints.

You should not include requirements in your procurement that limit opportunities to specific suppliers or brands.

This approach aligns to the Government Procurement Rules and Principles. It means your agency is less at risk of being locked in to a single supplier or branded service.

A best-practice example of sourcing

A government agency releases a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a new cloud solution. It doesn't specify a supplier or brand. It includes the:

  • functional
  • technical, and
  • commercial requirements for the cloud hosting approach.

Requirements may include data security and sovereignty.

The government agency remains open to assessing the supplier based on the requirements. They avoid creating unnecessary obstacles for the market and remain open to new sources of innovation. Potential suppliers can decide if they will take part based on the government agency’s requirements, instead of supplier or brand-named pre-conditions.

What not to do

A government agency releases an RFP requiring that a new cloud solution must be hosted from a particular supplier or brand. It doesn’t specify the core technical functional requirements for hosting. 

This RFP:

  • limits the number of suppliers who can respond to the RFP
  • excludes some suppliers from the market
  • limits the ability to consider economic benefits to New Zealand
  • limits opportunity for new innovations.

If you're not advertising openly

There may be situations where an agency does not need to openly advertise a contract opportunity.

Where an agency exempts a procurement from open advertising, it must:  

  • document the evidence on which it bases its decision (Rule 12)
  • publish the contract award on GETS, including the reason for the exemption (Rule 32).

Government Procurement Rules to apply when sourcing cloud services

These Rules are directly relevant to this guidance:

Using framework agreements for specific providers

Framework agreements allow eligible government agencies to buy services from a provider under standardised terms.

These framework agreements are not common capabilities agreements, like the All-of-Government contracts on this website.

Agencies should still use a primary procurement process for these services.

Department of Internal Affairs framework agreements on Digital.govt.nz:

Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment framework agreement on Digital.govt.nz:

Available frameworks may change from time to time. You can check the main list on Digital.govt.nz:

If you have questions, contact us.

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