Recent global events have accelerated the trend for remote working, which in turn has increased the demand for cloud computing and storage services. However, the Cloud has more to offer the public sector than just a convenient way for remote workers to collaborate, as we discuss below. If you are responsible for your public sector organisation’s cloud migration strategy, you will find there are a number of reasons why cloud services and resources could be very important for you in the future.
Why cloud services are so important for government agencies in Australia
The reasons for public sector cloud adoption go well beyond remote worker collaboration. The following benefits are encouraging public sector organisations of all shapes and sizes to speed up their cloud migration strategies:
- Disaster recovery — The ability to recover quickly from hardware or software failure is important for all government agencies but especially for those in the emergency services, where remote storage facilities are essential. With your IT infrastructure, applications, data and services in the Cloud, you will be able to rely on your systems to keep running smoothly, even in the event of a localised natural disaster such as a destructive tropical cyclone.
- Accessibility — Being able to access data and services from any location is crucial for public sector workers who are often out of the office, whether they are working from home or in the field. This accessibility is baked into Cloud platforms and makes life much easier for IT administrators who are tasked with ensuring that all staff can access the systems they need from remote locations.
- Performance — Public sector entities in Australia may not be competing with each other to generate greater profits every year but almost all of them have to operate under strict budgetary limitations. Cloud computing platforms provide government agencies with the potential to significantly improve the performance of their IT systems in terms of ROI, making them of particular interest to agencies that are constantly looking for ways to cut costs and maximise the efficiency of each department under their control.
- Environmental concerns — Most businesses today are keen to present an eco-friendly image to their customers and whilst the public sector does not face the same commercial pressures, Australian citizens expect them to take steps to reduce the impact that their activities have on the climate. Thanks to economies of scale, cloud server installations are generally more energy-efficient than on-premises servers, making them a more environmentally friendly option.
- Flexibility — With pay-as-you-go compute resources and network services, government agencies can react quickly to changes in demand when using a cloud platform to host their IT infrastructure. Resources and services can be scaled up or down almost instantly, helping to keep costs under control and ensuring that systems continue to run smoothly even when faced with rapid increases in traffic.
In order to achieve efficiency goals and provide the highest standard of service to citizens in Australia, all organisations in the public sector should be planning to adopt cloud technology if they haven’t already done so.
