Cloud Computing for Governments

The significant increase of cloud adoption in the private sector is not so recognizable for the public sector. When it comes to exploring the opportunities that the cloud offers, the public sector is well behind the private sector. But a recent study by Forbes Insights, in conjunction with KPMG International, highlights that the public sector is becoming more open to a cloud-based approach and that cost savings is the greatest driver for state, local and federal governments in this matter. Basically, the government’s objectives while migrating to the cloud are to meet its operational needs, while reducing costs and increasing agility and efficiency.

The same study shows that Australia, Italy and Denmark lead the way, with almost a third of their respondents saying their organizations are moving to a full cloud implementation. Regarding concerns and challenges, the governments’ opinions also vary in the report. Respondents in U.S., Canada and the U.K. are the most worried about security.

Indeed, security and safety for the data is even more of a concern for government than it is for the private sector. It is critical because it implies citizen’s personal information and sensitive government information. Service providers are responding to these concerns by creating special federal clouds with another layer of security in their datacenters and by focusing on enhancing the value proposition for the public sector.

I’ve read recently the TechAmerica Foundation’s “The Cloud Imperative: Better Collaboration, Better Service, Better Cost”, a report that identifies and explains best practices and policies in cloud computing for state and local government.  The study is very compelling by addressing both the range of opportunities for data deployment and the singular restrictions of governance, security concerns and prohibitive budgets.

I believe that this report is very useful to sustain and promote the cloud adoption as I expect to see both confidence and adoption rates increase substantially this year because cloud is the technology of the future and the benefits it brings in government institutions are countless.

By moving services in the cloud, government agencies can create a platform of shared resources – software and infrastructure – and one that is easily accessible by the citizens as well. The consolidation of resources and the fact that cloud computing is more cost effective, leads also to reduction in ICT spending.

I consider that cloud computing is beneficial for governments, for citizens, and for the economy as a whole. Apart from reducing the workload, it reduces the need for IT staff and allows the government/agencies to focus on their core areas of work.

Photo source:  https://www.sxc.hu/photo/1035775.