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While some government agencies are embracing cloud others are more reticent as diverse opinions emerge on the best way to use the Cloud Technology. What can we learn from early adopters?

There is no doubt that cloud computing offers government an unprecedented opportunity to transform its operations while reducing costs. This fact has already been seized upon by a handful of governments. In the US, for example, Federal CIO Vivek Kundra launched the Federal Cloud Computing strategy in February this year. President Obama’s administration is adopting what it calls the ‘Cloud First’ approach and from 2012 federal agencies must default to cloud-based solutions.

In the UK, we first heard about the proposal for a government cloud, the G-Cloud, back in 2009 from the then government CIO John Suffolk. It’s taken two years, but in early October this year The Cabinet Office announced plans to begin the procurement of services for the G-Cloud with the publication of a tender notice for a framework contract later in the month.  

So things are moving ahead and not just in the US and the UK. For example, the Australian Government has been working with technology vendors on the development of government cloud services. In a draft strategy paper released in early 2011 the Australian Government gave December 2012 as its target date for the development of a web-based “storefront” or service catalogue of pre-approved cloud computing services for federal government agencies to choose from.

This move towards cloud computing in government reflects a journey already well advanced in the consumer and business worlds. Where would we all be without the ubiquitous Google, for example? Most people accessing Google maps have no idea where the content and the infrastructure that support it actually sit. All that matters to them is that the information is there when they need it. How many people realise that this is achieved with no transfer of data, in an intrinsically safe manner?

Diverse possibilities

In government, this on-demand cloud-based approach has the potential to improve the quality of the services delivered through centralised data and shared platforms. In the Nordic region, Capgemini is already working with a number of public sector CIOs to explore a ‘Nordic Cloud’. This could make select public data transparently available so that diverse government organisations can tap into it from inside their organisational boundaries, rather than working from their own siloed data stores. This approach to cloud use is referred to as ‘inside-out’, as opposed to using Cloud technology to deliver the new generation of citizen services externally which is called ‘outside-in’. This model reduces the huge cost and complexity of operating numerous siloed IT systems, many performing similar tasks, by sourcing the same technology, information and services from a single source outside the organisation.

The Nordic CIOs are amongst a number that are fast recognising the huge range of possibilities that cloud creates in terms of new ways of serving customers or running corporate functions. In Scotland there is another great example of what is, in essence, a private G-Cloud. eProcurement Scotland (ePS) is a multi-agency procurement platform launched in 2002. It has evolved into a scalable, ‘as-a-service’, multi-tenant system to which new users and organisations can always be added. It currently represents about one third of total public procurement in Scotland. It has made a marked improvement to public sector efficiency, and created significant public value.

In the Netherlands, a security-sensitive cloud implementation known as the Information Pool is currently being piloted. Designed for use in emergency situations, the system enables multiple public agencies to exchange their data on a single platform to enable high speed information sharing ‘on the fly’ at times of crisis. In the UK the Information Workplace Platform (IWP) at the Department for Education facilitates on-demand content management, collaboration, workflow, management information, and sophisticated enterprise search via a web browser. It allows the government department to provision new business information and collaboration services quickly, cheaply and with a high degree of user engagement.

Five features of cloud computing

The above are just a few of the use cases already demonstrating the impact of cloud computing. They all exhibit some or all of the five essential features of cloud computing as defined by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). These features are:
•    On-demand service: users provision computing capabilities when needed
•    Broad network access: capabilities can be accessed over a network via diverse devices
•    Resource pooling: computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers
•    Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be quickly provisioned, in some cases automatically
•    Measured service: resource usage can be monitored, controlled and reported.

The argument in favour of the value, flexibility and quality these features provide is so compelling that Capgemini believes the transition to cloud will define the technology landscape of government in the coming decade. However, starting the journey to the cloud is proving a challenge for some governments. Many are daunted by the complex questions that cloud appears to pose around data security, business roles and commercial models.

A simpler approach

This complexity needs to be unravelled. In Capgemini’s recently published point of view ‘The Government Cloud: Time for Delivery’ we offer a pathway through these questions and argue that denial and delay are not a good strategy when it comes to the G-Cloud. Those who implement first will realise savings soonest, and those could be as much as 25% of running costs in some areas. In departments and agencies trying to accommodate budget cuts, this kind of financial benefit cannot be overlooked.

Wider social change will continue whether or not governments move towards cloud, and it risks engulfing those public administrations that resist the changing shape of citizen behaviour and demands which has been fuelled by the boom in web-based, on-demand services. For example, citizens, public servants and politicians alike are using social networks such as Facebook to comment on and compare government services. Governments need a strategy to take advantage of the opportunities this offers, or risk such social media becoming an unmanaged source of false information and criticism.

A new mindset

Adopting a cloud strategy demands a change in mindset. Government leaders across the fields of business and technology need to consider the impact of cloud on the overall strategy of their organisations and on their service delivery models. They must approach cloud adoption in a cohesive manner, assessing all the potential cloud touchpoints, including internal stakeholders and partner agencies.

The impact of new models on frontline services and corporate functions should be explored to ensure that the technology aligns with the direction of the business. By moving corporate functions from inside an organisation to an external cloud, costs can be reduced while improving performance and flexibility. Equally, innovative cloud models can bring the outside environment – customers, partners, and the service delivery chain – into the heart of an organisation and continue the progress being made towards greater customer-centricity, choice, data sharing and joined-up service provision.

Capgemini defines this as the ‘outside-in’ model in contrast to the traditional IT model that supports the internal government services and operates as ‘inside-out’. In the ‘outside-in’ model, we see government engaging the customer in its service delivery. The flexibility of cloud computing allows services to be developed that are centred on events making sense to the customer. In ‘outside-in’, flexibility and citizen-centric delivery can be achieved without the constraints or security issues of existing ‘inside-out’ IT.

As technology fundamentally changes the way citizens want to interact with their governments, it is now time for government agencies to appoint a leader for cloud, set out a strategic roadmap involving business and technology, and test its potential with a pilot cloud implementation. Capgemini’s own EU eGov annual survey now incorporates cloud provisioning and new business models, allowing peers across EU governments to benchmark their own journeys to the cloud.

Do more with less, now!

It’s typical for governments in this time of austerity to want to do more with less, but this objective must be approached with the understanding that the ‘more’ relates to meeting citizens’ expectations for a new level of sophistication in online services, in which Cloud technology has a crucial role to play; and that the ‘less’ refers to reducing the cost of existing IT systems, which calls for a completely different approach to deploying cloud technology.

A cloud strategy can help to meet the prevailing demand to do more with less and balance departmental costs with citizen expectations. However, we must not underestimate the change that government IT and its business partners will need to go through to achieve this. There is a huge difference between how we use technology in our current IT systems and how technology is delivered in the cloud. Nonetheless, the way in which governments use cloud as a tool for improvement and to help address current budgetary, efficiency and customer focus challenges will shape public sector service delivery over the coming years.