Big upside for public sector with cloud computing

A new report from Ibec industry association Technology Ireland has found that an increase of 10 per cent in cloud adoption by the Irish public sector could produce economic benefits of €473 million annually.

Produced on behalf of Technology Ireland by Frontier Economics, the Public Sector Cloud Adoption Report assesses the potential benefits to the public sector of prioritising and accelerating the adoption of cloud computing and storage solutions, identifies the current barriers to adoption of cloud computing, and explores how these can be overcome.

The report finds that public services would be improved by widespread public sector cloud adoption. In addition it finds that cloud use would significantly strengthen public sector cybersecurity defences, noting that the least affected HSE systems by the 2021 cyberattack were those based in the cloud. It also states that the public sector would reduce emissions and enhance sustainability through greater cloud usage.

“The way public services are being delivered all over the world is changing rapidly,” says Technology Ireland director Una Fitzpatrick. “As people make greater use of the internet and smart devices they want governments to provide better digital services. The Covid-19 pandemic has only served to accelerate this trend, with a greater expectation than ever that state bodies should be able to operate remotely and at speed. Ireland is no different. The country’s well-earned status as a global technology hub is also feeding the growing appetite for innovation in the delivery of public services.”

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She points out that this has already been acknowledged by the government which has made better use of new technologies a key policy objective with the 2022 National Digital Strategy, Our Public Service 2020 and the current programme for government all stressing the need to accelerate the digital delivery of public services.

“Cloud computing is key to the burgeoning national and global digital transformation,” Fitzpatrick adds. “That’s because the flexibility it provides is fundamental to the responsive and nimble services that people now expect from government.”

However, the report finds that the Irish private sector is seen as twice as likely as its public sector counterpart to avail of the cloud. And it contends that antiquated procurement systems are preventing the Irish public sector from moving to the cloud.

“Much has been written and said about the undisputed power of the cloud to drive business and enterprise growth,” says Fitzpatrick. “But its capacity to transform public services and deliver major benefits for Irish public sector bodies and people in Ireland has largely been overlooked.

“That is why this report is so valuable – it highlights clearly what the consequences are of the Irish public sector’s low uptake of the technology. Moving to the cloud, as the Frontier Economics research demonstrates, would have deep cybersecurity, sustainability and economic advantages, as well as improving the fundamental quality of public services. It should, therefore, be a no-brainer for Government.”

She says analysis of other jurisdictions shows that cloud adoption by public bodies delivers a myriad of advantages for end-users. “There are especially strong cybersecurity and sustainability benefits to be achieved through heightened Irish public sector cloud use. As our research determines, however, a series of barriers are currently preventing the Irish public sector from making use of the technology.”

Among the report’s key recommendations is the development of an effective and fit-for-purpose procurement framework that would enable Irish public sector bodies to properly access cloud services and the benefits they provide. It also recommends the adoption of a clear top-down cloud-first policy that would help drive cloud usage across the public sector ecosystem.

“Frontier Economics has drilled down into the root causes preventing the Irish public sector from availing of the technology,” Fitzpatrick adds. “Antiquated procurement processes are identified as one of the chief problems. That is eminently solvable, as are some of the other obstacles. What’s more, the recommendations set out in the report now provide a clear roadmap for the public sector that can help it to overcome those hurdles and unlock the benefits of the cloud for people in Ireland.”

She says the public sector should take advantage of the presence in Ireland of Ireland’s leading cloud computing firms. “Despite this cutting-edge technology on our doorstep, the public sector has been slow to harness it. As the report shows there is now an opportunity to right that wrong and reap the benefits of digitalisation in the same way the private sector in Ireland has and the public sectors in countries with whom Ireland often benchmarks itself against, including the UK, Canada and Australia.”