NEWSLETTER6
JANUARY2017MESSAGEFROMTHECOORDINATOR
DearReader,
I’mpleasedtopresentyouthenewCloudforEuropenewsletter.
Lookingatthelastyearwearehappyabouttheachievementsandprogressoftheproject.The
consortium,partnersandcontractorshavecontributedtoaproductiveyear-pavingthewayforan
impactfulandsustainableCloudforEurope.
WehavecontinuedtodisseminatethevisionofCloudforEuropeandpresentedouractivitiesat
nationalandinternationalevents,forexampletheIRISconference2016inSalzburg,thenationalEU
conferenceinPortugal,aworkshopinBucharestaboutGovernmentalvs.institutionalcloud,
ExecutiveCloudStrategies1inStockholmatSeptember7andtheEuroCloudForum2016,5-6
OctoberinBucharestjusttonameafew.PhaseIofourPCPprojecthasbeenfinalizedinOctober
2016.Promisingresultsareexpectedtofollowsoon.PhaseIIoftheprojecthasstartedinJanuary
2017.Tosharpenourapproachandincreaseourvisibility,wewillhaveanopenworkshopwithall
contractorsonMarch29th2017inRome.
IwishyouanexcitingreadingandvaluableinsightsintowhatPCPcanmeanforyourbusinessand
howCloudforEuropedeliverstotheEuropeanecosystem.
1http://www.cloudstrategies.se/
FP7-610650CloudforEurope
CURRENTSTATUSOFTHECLOUDFOREUROPEPROJECT
During the evaluationof theoffers received for Phase1, several problemsemergedwhich caused
considerabledelaysintheprocedure.ThemainissuesdiscussedbytheProcurersinthetransitionfrom
Phase1toPhase2wererelatedtotheverificationofresultsandthedraftingoftheInvitationLetter
forPhase2.InthefollowingmonthswhenPhase1actuallybegan,theCloudforEuropeProcurershave
nothadanyadditionalproblems.Currently,Phase1hasfinishedandthePhasewillstart
SUCCESSFULCLOUDFOREUROPEPCPTENDER:STRONGINTERESTAMONGSME’S
TheCloudforEuropePCPtendermetstronginternationalinterest.29economicoperatorsfrom11
countriessubmittedbidstothetender.24bidswerereceived,ofwhichfinally12gotthroughthe
processoftechnicalandfinancialevaluation.Theparticipationrateof45%SMEs,24%Large
Companiesand31%PublicResearchBodiesshowthatSMEsarehighlyinterestedtobecomea
solutionproviderforthepublicsectorandgiveevidencethatPCPincreasesboththeparticipationof
SMEstothetenderprocedureandtheawardingofactualcontractstoSMEs.
CLOUDFOREUROPEPCPTENDERRESULTSANNOUNCMENTCEREMONY&DESIGNPHASE
KICKOFF
Onthe2ndNovember2016,theawardsceremonyforthesuccessfulbiddersoftheHelixNebula
ScienceCloudtendertookplaceinLyon,France.
FP7-610650CloudforEurope
Atotalof28multinationalcompanies,SMEsandpublicresearchorganisationsfrom12countries
submittedbidsduringthesummer.The4selectedconsortiawereannouncedattheeventwhere
theypresentedtheirvisionsforthehybridcloudplatform.
• Contractor1:T-systems,Huawei,Cyfronet,Divia
• Contractor2:IBM
• Contractor3:RHEAGroup,T-Systems,exoscale,SixSq
• Contractor4:Indra,HPE,Advania,SixSq
Tofindoutmoreaboutthewinningbidders,clickhere
Thiseventmarkedtheconclusionofthepreliminaryphaseofthepre-commercialprocurementand
wastheoccasiontokickoffthedesignphaseofthePre-CommercialProcurementthatwillseethe
fourwinnerscompetetogothroughtotheprototypingphase.
Readmoreabouttheeventathttp://www.hnscicloud.eu
FP7-610650CloudforEurope
CLOUDFOREUROPEWONANINNOVATION-AWARD
TheCloudforEuropeprojecthasbeenawardedwiththe“NationalAwardforInnovation2016”of
Italy.Theprojectreceivedtheawardonthe20thSeptember2016inRomeinthepresenceofthe
PresidentoftheItalianRepublicSergioMattarella,theMinisterofEducation,Universityand
ResearchStefaniaGianny,theMinisterforPublicAdministrationMariannaMadiaandthePresident
oftheCotec-FoundationLuigiNicolai.Theawardemphasizestheprojectsimportantcontributionto
pre-commercialprocurementasaninstrumentforpublicsectorinnovation.
FP7-610650CloudforEurope
ONPRE-COMMERCIALPROCUREMENTANDTHECLOUDFOREUROPEPROJECT
TheCloudforEuropeprojectusesjointpre-commercialprocurementtofindinnovativecloud
servicesthatbestfitthecommonrequirementsoftheEuropeanpublicsector.Pre-commercial
procurementisamechanismthatallowspublicprocurersandprivatesectororganisationstowork
togetherandjointlyexploreinnovativesolutions.Itinvolvessharingtherisksandbenefitsof
developingnewproductsandservicesuntilthepointoftheircommercialtake-up.
Pre-commercialprocurementwithinCloudforEuropeisdividedintothreestages.Phase1issolution
exploration,whichincludesananalysisofrequirements,aproposalforasolutionspaceintermsof
architecture,andfirsthigh-leveldesignforopen,interoperablecloudservices.Theresultswillbe
evaluatedbytheconsortiumandsuccessfulprojectswillenterphase2,whichisaboutspecification
andprototypeimplementation,withanaimtodemonstratethefeasibilityoftheproposedsolution.
Successfullyevaluatedprojectswillcontinuetophase3,whichwilldemonstratethesolutionsina
testenvironment,evaluatedagainstperformanceandinteroperabilitycriteria.
CharacteristicsofPre-CommercialProcurementbyCloudforEuropeWithPCPsmallandmedium
enterprises(SMEs)getafairchancetoprovideservicestothepublicsector,whilethepublicsector
canreducetheperceivedriskstobuyfromSMEs.ThecharacteristicsofPCPare:
- R&Dservices
- Frameworkcontract
- Demandsidedrivenapproach(needsandrequirementsaredefinedexclusivelybythe
procurer)
- Developmentinphases
- MultipleandcompetingcompaniesalongthewholepathofthePCP
- Poolofatleasttwoparticipatingcompaniesuntilthelastphasetoensureacompetitive
market.
- Contractualarrangements,rightsandobligationsoftheparties(includingIPRs),aredecided
upfrontandmadeavailabletoallinterestedbiddersinadvance.
FP7-610650CloudforEurope
- PCPenablesprocurerstolowertheriskoflargedeploymentcontracts-byfirstcomparing
theprosandconsofcompetingsolutionapproachesfromdifferentsuppliersbeforefixing
therequirements/tenderspecsfordeployment,-bysplittingtheR&Dinphaseswith
evaluationsaftereachPCPphasethatstopsfurtherinvestmentinnon-viablesolutions,-by
sharingthebenefits/risksofcommercialization/IPRswiththesuppliers,and-byencouraging
thedevelopmentofopeninteroperablesolutions.
- FromtheSMEspointofviewPre-CommercialProcurementincreasesboththeinvolvement
inthetenderprocedureandthechancesofwinningcontracts.Formoreinformationon
CloudforEuropeactivities,pleasevisitwww.cloudforeurope.eu/activities.
FOURTIPSFORYOUROWNPRE-COMMERCIALPROCUREMENT(PCP)
IfyouwantyourownPre-CommercialProcurement,wehavecollected4valuabletipsforthe
differentstakeholders.
1.Communicate.ThenecessarystepsofaPre-CommercialProcurement(PCP)procedurearenot
self-explainingandcleartoeveryone.Acontinuingandearlystartedexchangewithandfeedbackto
thecontractorsthroughouttheprocedureisnecessaryformutualunderstandingofallsides
involved.
2.Setupaknowledgearchive.Contractorshavemanyquestions.Questionsandanswersshouldbe
collectedinaFAQandsharedwiththecontractorsformoretransparency.
3.Bepatientandbeflexibletowardsprocurers.Fromtheprocurer’spointofview,thePCPprocessis
complexandtimeconsuming:
• IttakestimetounderstandwhatjointPCPis.
• IttakestimetounderstandthedifferenceofPCPcomparedtocommercialprocurement.
• Legalaspectsneedtime–procurer’sagreement,tenderdocumentation.
• BiddingcompaniesneedtimetounderstandwhatPCPis.
FP7-610650CloudforEurope
• Astheleadprocureristhelegalentity,ithastofollownationallegislation.
• Recommendation:Togetasolutionbeflexibleanddonotsticktoarigidinterpretationof
thetenderregulationclauses.
4.Bepatientandbeflexibletowardsvendors.Fromthevendor’spointofview,thePCPprocessis
complexandtimeconsuming,too.
• Legaldepartmentsofindustrybiddersneedtounderstandthedifferencecomparedto
traditionalprocurement–eventhoughtheprocessfollowsthenationalprocurement
regulation.
• The“risksharing”ofIPRsisdifficulttoagree,especiallyforlargecompanies.
• Recommendation:Teachindustry(legaldepartments)tobetterunderstandthePCBprocess.
UPCOMINGCLOUDEVENTS
CloudforEuropeisorganisingaworkshopforthecontractorswheretheyareinitiatedtopresent
theirintermediateresultsinphaseIIat29thofMarch2017.TheeventwillbetakingplaceinRome
andregistrationwillbeopenedsoon!
STAKEHOLDERMAILINGLIST
ToreceiveCloudforEuropenewsandeventinvitations,subscribetoourstakeholdermailinglistat
www.cloudforeurope.eu/stakeholder-area.JointhediscussionsonLinkedInandformorefrequent
projectupdates,follow@cloudforeuropeonTwitter.
CONTACTUS
Formoreinformationontheprojectaswellasanyquestionsandsuggestions,pleasecontactusat
