IDC urges APAC govt agencies to move to the cloud

By EgovAsia Editors | Sep 1, 2010

Most public sector agencies are widely dispersed operational silos and have an urgent need to coordinate and integrate the various egovernment functions. The challenge is that these agencies face varying policy and operational restrictions which translate to different needs and scales on their IT capacity. As the business case for the traditional data center is no longer sustainable in the long run, the adoption of cloud computing technologies in the public sector has become a viable option, according to the latest IDC Government Insights study.

In the report, “Looking Ahead: Articulating Cloud Competencies for the Asia/Pacific Public Sector,” IDC Government Insights discussed the trends driving the adoption of cloud technologies, whether public, private or a hybrid of both models, and the concerns over the use of cloud computing technologies in the public sector such as security, reliability and regulatory compliance.

"In general, the Asia/Pacific public sector is still apprehensive about the adoption of cloud computing especially in agencies that handle sensitive information. Most of the initiatives today are still at an experimental stage as the public sector tries to determine the return on investment (ROI) and weigh the risks involved in the adoption of cloud computing technologies," says Gerald Wang, Senior Market Analyst at IDC Government Insights Asia/Pacific.

He adds, "Governments should take an active change management stance to address the people and process aspects of cloud implementations, such as revolutionizing traditional workflows and facilitating interoperable standards to bring about greater inter-agency coordination. All the stakeholders involved need to internalize the value and application of the cloud model so as to truly realize a continued and successful egovernment transformation."