UKCloud extends partnership with VMware to help UK public sector organizations develop safe and sustainable remote working services

UKCloud has today announced further investment in its partnership with VMware through the achievement of VMware Cloud Verified status and the launch of various VMware-based capabilities which help public sector organizations accelerate their digital transformation to adapt to the new normal of social distancing and remote working. 

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent need to enforce social distancing in response to the lock-down has triggered a real drive across the UK public sector to shift from traditional channels to digital channels in order to enable citizens, businesses and public sector staff to access public services and securely share data from remote locations. Regardless of how long the lock-down in the UK lasts, many, like Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, believe that these digital interactions and remote working practices will become the “new normal” and so public sector organizations need to ensure the emergency solutions they’ve adopted are safe, compliant and sustainable for the long term.

UKCloud has been focused on helping public sector organizations with digital transformation since 2011, and together with long-term partner VMware, has developed four key capabilities that are designed specifically for the ‘new normal’:

1. Remote Working

In recent weeks, organizations across the UK (including those in the public sector) have rushed to implement remote working solutions to enable their staff to adhere to government guidance by staying home. In response to this clear need, UKCloud has developed a government-grade desktop-as-a-service offering powered by VMware Horizon. This offering enjoys the high assurance and secure connectivity benefits of UKCloud’s multi-cloud platform, as well as all-inclusive award-winning support from security cleared UK experts at a price point that is competitive with the generic hyperscale options.

“We’re really proud to be working in partnership with UKCloud. For clear and good reason remote working requests have increased dramatically in recent weeks, many with an objective to obtain access to clinical applications wherever the user may be. Combining VMware Horizon virtual desktop with UKCloud’s desktop as a service capabilities, including direct connectivity to HSCN, we’re well positioned to jointly deliver a secure solution to NHS trusts quickly, while still being tailored to their exact application requirements. Using both VMware’s and UKCloud’s expertise in the healthcare sector, we truly feel that this solution delivers meaningful outcomes, in the timescales and offering the flexibility the NHS requires.” said Jeramie Sutton, Senior Sales Manager Healthcare UKI, VMware.

News that social distancing measures will remain in force as the ‘new normal’, coupled with previously published findings by CIPD, stating that 87% of employees wish to work remotely, mean that public sector organizations should review their interim remote working solutions to ensure it is compliant, sustainable and flexible enough to support an uncertain future.

2. Digital Services

With almost a decade of experience working with the UK public sector, UKCloud recognizes that digital transformation is complex and constrained by a number of factors as reported in its recent State of Cloud Adoption survey. Despite the challenges, 81% agreed that ‘cloud is merely an enabler to adopt transformative technologies’ and the pandemic provided a compelling reason to accelerate their delivery of essential public services via digital channels rather than through traditional channels – for example GP’s providing consultations via video calls and patients using services like Activ8rlives, rather than traditional examinations.

As a VMware Cloud Verified partner, UKCloud provides organizations the ability to adopt a familiar and compatible cloud technology rather than having to re-develop everything using expensive cloud native skills. By leveraging existing skills and familiar VMware toolsets, public sector organizations can easily extend, protect, or replace on-premises infrastructure with multi-cloud solutions from UKCloud. The use of multiple clouds and deployment models is ever increasing, and UKCloud can help create hybrid VMware Cloud environments spanning on-premises, UKCloud datacenters and Crown Hosting, supporting digital transformation.

“UKCloud, a UK Public Sector specialist service provider, is one of our most recent service providers in EMEA to achieve Cloud Verified status. With this badge UKCloud has been verified to deliver VMware validated design services. With the Cloud Verified services, UKCloud can deliver flexible and interoperable solutions to allow its customers in the public sector get the most out of their cloud investment.” said Hervé Renault, EMEA Head of Cloud, VMware.

3. Cost reduction

Given the significant government expenditure to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak, it is inevitable that there will be much more emphasis on cost reduction and there is a need to build IT strategies that enable public sector organizations to be flexible. UKCloud has worked with VMware on two key capabilities.

First, the Cloud Adoption Licensing Model (CALM) from UKCloud is designed to help organizations overcome lock-in to multi-year Enterprise License Agreements (ELA) and accelerates the transition from traditional VMware environments to a more flexible and affordable cloud-based model.

Second, many organizations will have adopted public cloud platforms sub-optimally in their rush to get new services online, and this means there will be overspend in many cases. UKCloud provide a Cost Optimization Service, powered by VMware CloudHealth, which helps organizations realize the value of cloud, optimize cloud spend and eliminate unused or under-used resources.

4. Cloud Native services

UKCloud and its partnership with VMware has been energized through the achievement of VMware Cloud Verified status and together it continues to underpin digital transformation initiatives across the public sector. VMware’s recent acquisitions of Pivotal, Bitnami and Carbon Black directly align with UKCloud’s values of choice and its multi-cloud approach, jointly enabling customers to deliver secure, sustainable and flexible digital services alleviating lock-in concerns associated with proprietary global cloud platforms.