The public sector has not been immune to the appeal of cloud computing, with governments keen to accelerate adoption of cloud services. However, while the private and commercial sector has taken to cloud computing more readily, there still exists a somewhat sporadic adoption across the public sector.
Introducing a cloud first policy can be an effective way to endorse and encourage the sector to embrace the benefits that cloud computing can bring. Factors that need to be addressed to promote acceptance and bring about simplified adoption include cultural barriers, based around fear, uncertainty, and a lack of information.
Governments are stimulating the cloud appetite
Governments are taking steps to facilitate implementation and reduce barriers. There is no one favoured approach because the widespread adoption of public cloud for service delivery is not yet at a mature level.
In France, the Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (DILA) has adopted a private cloud approach through the construction of a new data centre for the delivery of services to citizens and administration officers. The work of DILA contributes to transparency in public, economic, and financial affairs and is the country's first government cloud. In Singapore, the government has contracted suppliers to build a private cloud.
In the UK, the G-Cloud programme aims to enable government agencies to deliver services securely and quickly on demand. It also aims to bring about cost savings through the standardisation and sharing of computing resources and applications by providing a framework for procuring accredited services, a public sector network based on standards and a mandated open standards policy. The US government has adopted a cloud first model. In 2010, it introduced this policy to default to cloud-based solutions whenever a secure, reliable and cost-effective cloud option exists.
The public sector is increasingly betting on cloud computing
An increasingly large number of countries have ambitions to use cloud computing to boost the local economy, with a special focus on small and medium enterprises (SMEs), often in partnership with the local telecommunications incumbent. The EU stipulated in a recent report its aim to create 3.8m jobs by 2020 via investments in cloud computing. Similarly, in Asia-Pacific governments are encouraging local cloud computing consortiums.
The impact of these local public sector initiatives will depend on each country's local conditions. However, caution should be applied here. There are certainly important macroeconomic, country-level benefits to be had from cloud computing, but governments must be realistic about the changes that will come from it.
A new mindset is required for consuming cloud services
A cloud computing operating model means that an agency can enjoy potentially increased operational efficiency through paying for consumption rather than capacity. However, the flexibility that cloud brings can often bring with it commercial agreements that have been defined to protect the service provider at the expense of the government agency. A more balanced approach needs to be reached. This is precisely what the EU is trying to achieve, with the ambition to impose a more balanced perspective on cloud responsibilities and liabilities across all cloud contracts.
Cloud computing is the enabler
Cloud computing is such that it is not an end in itself, rather it is what it enables and facilitates that holds the value. It is this opportunity to redefine – be it procurement, service management or development processes – that should be explored by the public sector. For example, the UK's G-cloud framework has brought in a simplified way of procuring accredited services. There need not be overly complicated procurement processes sitting on top of this. Keeping the down-selection process as simple as it can be will maximise the benefit that a short procurement cycle can bring.
As cloud first strategies start to gain some credence, the coming years will likely see more such mandates on agencies as standards are created, security issues addressed, and return on investment (ROI) case studies established in a multitude of projects. As both the maturity of the offerings and the financial desperation of public sector agencies increase, there will be an acceleration of cloud service adoption. This could prove explosive when a point is reached where most new information and communications technology (ICT) procurement gives preference to the cloud services model.
Jessica Hawkins is an analyst at Ovum
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