|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, the integration of cloud computing within government operations is not only crucial but also transformative. With the beginning of the pandemic, cloud services have played a pivotal role in ensuring the continuity of vital services and the uninterrupted progression of daily life.
Adopting cloud computing in the public sector enables government entities to leverage cutting-edge technologies and infrastructure without heavy upfront investments. It provides a flexible and scalable environment that can accommodate the growing demands of digital services, data storage, and application hosting. This flexibility allows government agencies to respond quickly to changing needs and efficiently allocate resources where they are most needed.
Additionally, implementing cloud computing within the government promotes cooperation and compatibility between various agencies and departments. By utilising shared cloud infrastructure and services, government entities can eliminate barriers, streamline operations, and enable efficient data sharing within entities in the government.
In light of this, in early July 2023, the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) of New Zealand announced a development in its efforts to enhance government IT services. The DIA has entered into an all-of-government agreement with one of the multinational technology companies in New Zealand to provide public cloud services.
This agreement represents a comprehensive and wide-reaching contract that offers eligible government agencies access to public cloud infrastructure and associated professional services under standardised terms and conditions.
The partnership between the DIA and multinational technology companies signifies a strategic move towards modernising and streamlining the delivery of government services through the adoption of cloud technology. By leveraging the company’s expertise in cloud computing, eligible agencies can leverage the scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency of public cloud services for their digital initiatives.
This pan-government agreement is a significant step in promoting consistency and efficiency across government agencies, as it establishes a unified framework for accessing and utilising public cloud resources. By standardising the terms and conditions, the agreement ensures a transparent and fair process for agencies to procure and manage their cloud services, reducing complexities and redundancies.
According to Justin Gray, the managing director of the multinational technology company, the constantly evolving technology landscape presents many possibilities and obstacles for the government.
The Department of Internal Affairs states that the agreement with the multinational technology company brings several advantages. One of the key benefits is that company’s public cloud services are provided from data centres within New Zealand, ensuring compliance with local laws and regulations.
Additionally, the agreement capitalises on the collective strength of government agencies as a unified customer, enabling them to access negotiated consumption-based discounts for public cloud services. Moreover, the agreement streamlines the contractual procedures for agencies, simplifying the overall process.
The company’s approach involved collaborating with customers and partners to develop and expand its cloud framework agreement catalogue, ensuring that it offered government agencies services and solutions tailored to their specific digital transformation requirements.
Leveraging its existing public cloud platform powered by one of the software companies, the multinational technology company worked closely with various vendors and partners to enhance and optimise its platforms, enabling the seamless delivery of innovative solutions for New Zealand.
