DTA’s Secure Cloud Strategy has enabled many Australian government agencies in adopting cloud services to facilitate digital transformation. But cloud adoption is not a quick or simple task, writes Ashish Tiwari.

As new tech buzzwords like “distributed trust”, “quantum computing” and “explainable AI” bubble up, “cloud” seems to have settled in as a core enabler. This shift is a result of cautious yet consistent adoption of cloud by the industry and by the government agencies across all levels.

DTA’s Secure Cloud Strategy has enabled many Australian government agencies in adopting cloud services to facilitate digital transformation. However, cloud adoption is not a quick or simple task as there are several barriers such as a lack of knowledge, availability of skilled workforce, or decades old operating models that are difficult to adapt.

The state of government cloud adoption

As the government’s cloud footprint has expanded, so has the maturity in its processes and practices. Cloud adoption thus far, along with the iterative improvements in the DTA’s Cloud Strategy, has busted the myths of perceived lack of security or high complexity in the cloud.

Cloud adoption by government bodies like State Services has set precedence and clarity for more cloud engagement in the future. Establishment of departments like Digital Victoria, focussed on creating and enabling long term vision and digital strategy, reiterates the government’s intent and plan for creating secure digital experiences for its citizens.

This has now shifted the question from “whether or not to adopt cloud”, to “what capabilities should go to the cloud and why”.

Key drivers for cloud adoption

Some of the most obvious benefits of cloud have been agility and efficiency. Agility in having the elastic infrastructure to respond to events like the “tax filing phase” when the usage of ATO’s services peaks for a short period, or the unfortunate climate events where people rely on information from the State Emergency Service (SES) or Fire and Safety Australia (FSA).

Cloud enables government bodies to focus on the core services they provide to citizens, without having to worry whether the technology will keep up with demand spikes. This also means the government does not need to budget for peak capacity all year round, leading to more efficient budget and resource allocation and more predictability in planning.

In terms of cons, the security risk is the first that comes to mind for cloud adoption. However, these concerns are often misplaced with cloud security being more mature than most on-prem systems and data centres.

Cloud versus on-prem

When it comes to the argument of cloud over on-prem, cost-saving is certainly an important aspect as it enables the public sector to better allocate budget and resources towards citizens’ benefits.

But cost is certainly not the only driver. Nor is it the primary driver.

The primary driver is the government’s digital transformation strategy, which acknowledges the need for a modern, future-proof digital infrastructure that can keep up with modern demands of citizens, employees, and businesses.

For the next few years, as more government services move to the cloud and legacy modernisation initiatives take shape, a hybrid model will be the best integrated solution.

Defence and biodiversity may be the two areas that call for heightened security needs. But given the tech landscape, we may need to rethink the concept of on-prem as a CSP/govt managed, ring-fenced, and dedicated data centre with hardened security. The future is certainly hybrid, leaning significantly towards specialised public cloud.

As the government cautiously catches up with the industry on new tech adoption, the focus is moving from “operational enablement” to “establishing ethical guardrails for new tech adoption”.

Lots done. Lots more to be done.

*Ashish Tiwari is Consulting Director – Technology, ANZ at UST