By: Laura Stevenson, Director, Product Management, BLACKIRON Data
Cloud computing is the fastest growing IT segment in Canada. Offering an array of benefits, cloud solutions can address a wide variety of challenges for IT leaders in both private and public sector organizations.
While it’s often believed that public sector IT isn’t utilizing outsourcing solutions such as cloud, the 2013 CIO Census conducted by CanadianCIO and BLACKIRON Data revealed that the public sector has more hosted infrastructure than the private sector.
Here are four IT challenges faced by the public sector and how the cloud helps to address these challenges.
Challenge #1: Data Location
Where data is located is a major concern for Canadian companies, particularly governments and large enterprises. Storing data offshore could mean authorities have more or different access to data in Canada. While cloud solutions can be geographically dispersed, it is important to ensure that a cloud provider’s servers will be stored in Canada.
When looking for a cloud service provider, be sure to verify where your data will be housed and if they commit to keeping your data within Canada.
Challenge #2: Security & Compliance
Security is important for any organization or business, but especially so for public sector organizations that may be dealing with personal or financial information. Securing data in-house is increasing in complexity and could be reason alone to consider moving to the cloud. Cloud providers are dedicated to providing robust, secure services to many customers on a daily basis and undergo rigorous third-party audits and certification processes, beyond what any one company is required to do in a private data centre.
Challenge #3: Availability
Cloud service providers will often offer an uptime guarantee in service level agreements – so applications and infrastructure are available when you need them. Public sector services are often essential and it’s important for data to be accessible in the wake of a disaster such as a flood or power outage. Cloud computing offers solutions for business continuity and disaster restoration to ensure those essential services are available when they’re needed.
Cloud also offers developers the ability to work in a designated production environment.
Challenge #4: Flexibility
For government and public sector organizations, procurement is often a pre-determined, iterative process. Planning and purchasing cycles can span years, even decades, and aren’t based on results. When it comes to cloud there’s no need to boil the ocean in a day, flexible solutions can be integrated in small steps and scaled up as needed.
Outsourcing IT functions to the cloud means that public sector and government organizations can free up resources and staff members to focus on innovative projects and initiatives. While cost benefit is the number one reason why organizations move to the cloud, in the end the benefits are numerous – from improving the availability of applications, the ability to expand resources regionally and deploying new services and projects faster.
What are you waiting for? It’s time to start thinking about getting your head into the clouds!
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This entry was posted on November 15, 2013 at 8:28 am and is filed under Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Guest Post: How the Cloud Addresses Government IT Challenges
By: Laura Stevenson, Director, Product Management, BLACKIRON Data
Cloud computing is the fastest growing IT segment in Canada. Offering an array of benefits, cloud solutions can address a wide variety of challenges for IT leaders in both private and public sector organizations.
While it’s often believed that public sector IT isn’t utilizing outsourcing solutions such as cloud, the 2013 CIO Census conducted by CanadianCIO and BLACKIRON Data revealed that the public sector has more hosted infrastructure than the private sector.
Here are four IT challenges faced by the public sector and how the cloud helps to address these challenges.
Challenge #1: Data Location
Where data is located is a major concern for Canadian companies, particularly governments and large enterprises. Storing data offshore could mean authorities have more or different access to data in Canada. While cloud solutions can be geographically dispersed, it is important to ensure that a cloud provider’s servers will be stored in Canada.
When looking for a cloud service provider, be sure to verify where your data will be housed and if they commit to keeping your data within Canada.
Challenge #2: Security & Compliance
Security is important for any organization or business, but especially so for public sector organizations that may be dealing with personal or financial information. Securing data in-house is increasing in complexity and could be reason alone to consider moving to the cloud. Cloud providers are dedicated to providing robust, secure services to many customers on a daily basis and undergo rigorous third-party audits and certification processes, beyond what any one company is required to do in a private data centre.
Challenge #3: Availability
Cloud service providers will often offer an uptime guarantee in service level agreements – so applications and infrastructure are available when you need them. Public sector services are often essential and it’s important for data to be accessible in the wake of a disaster such as a flood or power outage. Cloud computing offers solutions for business continuity and disaster restoration to ensure those essential services are available when they’re needed.
Cloud also offers developers the ability to work in a designated production environment.
Challenge #4: Flexibility
For government and public sector organizations, procurement is often a pre-determined, iterative process. Planning and purchasing cycles can span years, even decades, and aren’t based on results. When it comes to cloud there’s no need to boil the ocean in a day, flexible solutions can be integrated in small steps and scaled up as needed.
Outsourcing IT functions to the cloud means that public sector and government organizations can free up resources and staff members to focus on innovative projects and initiatives. While cost benefit is the number one reason why organizations move to the cloud, in the end the benefits are numerous – from improving the availability of applications, the ability to expand resources regionally and deploying new services and projects faster.
What are you waiting for? It’s time to start thinking about getting your head into the clouds!
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This entry was posted on November 15, 2013 at 8:28 am and is filed under Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.