Government adopts cloud computing for e-government service delivery

Hong Kong (HKSAR) - The Government will incrementally adopt the cloud computing model to deliver its e-services and information, the Government Chief Information Officer, Mr Stephen Mak, said today (July 29).

Speaking at an industry forum organised by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO), Mr Mak said, "Cloud computing is a global trend.It is important for the Government to capitalise on this technology to meet rising public demand and expectations.

"We are going to establish a Government Cloud environment progressively over the next few years for supporting a range of business applications with government-wide utility. The aim is to bring about overall improvement opportunities for operation efficiency, customer services, as well as reducing effort, time and risks in the implementation of IT systems," Mr Mak said.

The proposed Government Cloud environment includes an "in-house private cloud" owned and operated by the Government, "outsourced private clouds" comprising facilities dedicated to the Government in secure data centres operated by contractors, and "public clouds" for generic services for which the Government has less control over how the services are provided.

The Government Cloud will be made available for shared use by all bureaux and departments so that they can execute their own IT-enabled business change initiatives in a more agile, cost-effective and joined-up manner. This enables flexible deployment of IT resources and workload, and helps reduce the overall carbon footprint and environmental impact.

"The OGCIO will continue to work closely with different stakeholders including the IT industry to develop a cloud regime most fitting for Hong Kong as a regional hub for information and communications technology," Mr Mak added.

Today's forum was organised to give the industry an overview of the Government's upcoming strategic IT initiatives and to help them better prepare for the provision of related products and services.Apart from the Government Cloud strategy, other initiatives covered in the forum included public sector information access and re-use, promotion of data centre development and government electronic information management strategy.Representatives from about 100 companies and organisations attended the forum that included interactive discussions.

http://7thspace.com/headlines/390503/government_adopts_cloud_computing_for_e_government_service_delivery.html