Cloud computing in the public sector – best practice

Governments around the world have been looking at how best to reduce functional redundancy through the concept of "shared services" where different departments share a single source of function. For example, in the UK, a concept for a government cloud (G-Cloud) has been proposed to provide the shared services described by Sir Peter Gershon in his 2004 report – but this may have to be revisited under the current government spend reviews.

Although cloud computing is a game changer in both the private and public sectors, it is no silver bullet. Many issues have to be addressed, and existing systems have to be included in the overall architecture. A well-thought out, long-term approach will provide far more benefits to the citizen and the government department or local authority than any quick-fix attempt.

This report looks at the promise and issues of cloud computing as described today, along with the direction cloud needs to take to fulfil its promise.