The WA government has signed a mandatory common use arrangement with US cloud giant Amazon Web Services.

The arrangement, which leverages the Commonwealth’s Whole of Government Agreement for AWS public cloud services, means all public authorities must use AWS or local partners as their exclusive source of supply for products and services included in the agreement.

The CUA covers AWS cloud computing services, enterprise support, professional services, training and certification and AWS marketplace.

Specific amendments to the Commonwealth whole of government agreement have been negotiated to meet WA’s requirements.

Country Director for AWS Public Sector in Australia and New Zealand Ian Rouse says the arrangement will provide state and local government agencies with a consistent approach to procuring services and remove the need to negotiate separate contract terms.

“With agencies and universities having the ability to access AWS services via the CUA, AWS Partners can more easily build innovative solutions to meet the changing needs of Western Australian citizens,” he said in a statement last week.

Anthony Williams, West Australian Regional Manager for AWS consulting partner Modis, says the ability for WA’s government agencies to access cloud services via the new CUA would drive digital government services.

“Secure, reliable digital citizen services has been crucial for the continuing smooth operation of our society through 2020,” he said.

CUAs are designed to harness the buying power of government to achieve savings and reduce duplication across agencies.

The AWS arrangement is in keeping with WA’s digital Strategy, which commits to adopting cloud-based services where they are fit for purpose and deliver value for money.

It also comes after the state government in September announced it would provide $1.8 million to establish its first whole-of government Cyber Security Operations Centre.

The centre would detect threats and boost cybersecurity resilience across government networks, innovation and ICT Minister Dave Kelly said.

WA’s Office of Digital Government has released a cloud procurement framework including Cloud Procurement Practice Guidelines and a Cloud Procurement Strategy Template.