Cloud UK White Paper sixteen Cloud adoption trends in the UK public sector

Transcription

1 Cloud UK White Paper sixteen Cloud adoption trends in the UK public sector 16 White Paper No November 2015 one

2 Introduction Five years ago, the terms Cloud First and Digital by Default didn t even exist in UK Government circles. IT services were typically provided by a small number of large IT contractors based on long-term contracts. That is, however, fast changing, and as the public sector looks to cut its costs without affecting front-line services considerable effort is being made to streamline IT and take advantage of the benefits Cloud computing can bring. With its ability to drive efficiencies, improve flexibility and scalability, and reduce costs, Cloud computing has a great deal to offer the UK s increasingly pressurised public sector. But while adoption rates have increased year-on-year, they have not quite kept pace with their private sector counterparts. Progress is, however, progress and, as this report demonstrates, a significant and growing proportion of the public sector is using Cloud, and Cloud Services to help transform the way that their organisations operate, communicate and collaborate. Around four in five (78%) public sector organisations have formally adopted at least one Cloud service, up from 74% a year ago, and from 38% in Arguably more interesting is the fact that the penetration of Cloud Services within these organisations has shown a big shift over the last 12 months; 82% of Cloud-using public sector organisations use two or more services, a 55% increase on the same figure from This increase owes much to the fact that Cloud Services are proving a sound investment and helping these organisations meet their desired objectives, be they driving down costs, improving citizen services, increasing flexibility or reducing pressure on internal IT departments. However, it is clear that the public sector is continuing to operate a Hybrid IT platform. While this also holds true for the private sector, the data protection and regulatory constraints placed on public bodies make the retention of Hybrid IT estates more prevalent in the public sector at least for the time being. Although a growing proportion of those surveyed hope to move to the Cloud as soon as is practical, over half intend to keep certain applications in house, owing primarily to data protection concerns, but also to investments already made in on-premises technology and the protection of Intellectual Property. Public sector organisations harbour many of the same concerns as the corporate world, but it is clear from this and previous research projects that they need a greater level of assurance around the reliability and trustworthiness of Cloud suppliers, SLAs and contractual frameworks. Security, data privacy and data sovereignty hang heavy over procurement decisions, and Cloud Providers face a higher barrier of entry with respect to these issues before they can deliver services to public sector organisations. Costs and, more specifically, the promise of cost savings, are key drivers in the decision to migrate to Cloud Services, and cost was a recurring theme throughout this research project. However, encouragingly, the flexibility of the delivery model and the need to facilitate innovation are delivering benefits that are more likely to drive initial and subsequent adoptions. This points to a shift in mind set away from seeing the IT department solely as a cost centre to deliver applications and devices, to something that can enable agility and business transformation. With its ability to drive efficiencies, improve flexibility and scalability, and reduce costs, Cloud computing has a great deal to offer the UK s increasingly pressurised public sector Looking to the year ahead, the public sector s engagement with Cloud Services looks set to increase significantly; 74% of those organisations using Cloud Services expect to migrate more of their estates over the next 12 months and 9% of non-cloud users expect to make their first moves to the delivery model. This growth will be helped in no small part by the end of support for Windows Server 2003 and Windows Small Business Server 2003 in July of this year; at the time the research was conducted, 60% of public sector respondents were still running the operating systems and now that the support deadline has passed, many will take the opportunity to move to Cloud-based alternatives. This White Paper sets out to explore the reality of adoption of Cloud Services across the UK public sector and looks into the levels of adoption, the drivers, satisfaction levels with the services being accessed and the concerns that can impede adoption. two

3 Cloud defined: There have been many definitions of Cloud computing since the phrase was first coined in the 1990s. To an extent, it has become a catch-all term for hosted IT services of any type, including, but not limited to, multi-tenanted services accessed via the internet. However, for the purposes of this report, we have used the National Institute of Standards and Technology s (NIST) definition of Cloud: Cloud computing is a term that relates to the IT infrastructure and environment required to develop/host/run IT services and applications on demand, with consumption-based pricing, as a resilient service. Communicating over the internet and requiring little or no client end components, it provides resources and services to store data and run applications, from many devices, anytime, anywhere, as-a-service. The services can, in turn, be scaled up and down as needed to meet a customer s variable operational needs, ensuring maximum cost efficiency. three

4 Cloud adoption trends in the public sector In mid-2015 Vanson Bourne conducted the fifth annual body of research on behalf of the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) to determine the level of Cloud adoption among participants and to gain insights into attitudes, experiences and trends across the UK public sector. Of the public sector organisations surveyed, 36% came from central government, 32% from local government, with the remainder distributed between the education, health and not-for-profit sectors. The overall Cloud adoption rate in the public sector is increasing rapidly, albeit still slightly behind that of the private sector. Today, 78% of public sector organisations formally use Cloud Services, compared to 84% in the world of business. It has, however, shown a notable increase since the Cloud Industry Forum first began its research programme in 2010, having more than doubled since that time, and is set to increase further still over the year ahead, with a further 9% expecting to make the move to Cloud. Similarly, penetration of Cloud Services within the public sector has shown healthy progression, and, indeed, is moving at a faster rate than the Cloud Industry Forum had anticipated. 82% of Cloud users in the public sector use two or more services, up from just 53% in 2014, and three quarters (74%) of Cloud users expect their use of Cloud Services to increase in Does your company have any hosted or Cloud-based services in use today? (Public Sector) YES NO 62% 38% 51% 49% 38% 62% 31% 69% 26% 74% 22% 78% Cloud Services within the public sector has shown healthy progression, and, indeed, is moving at a faster rate than the Cloud Industry Forum had anticipated How many different Cloud-based services does your company use today? (Public Sector) 50% 40% 30% 20% 0% 1 Cloud Service 2 Cloud Services 3 Cloud Services 4 Cloud Services 5+ Cloud Services four

5 Do you expect your adoption of Cloud Services to increase over the next 12 months? 26% YES NO 74% of Cloud users expect their use of Cloud Services to increase in % Plainly, Cloud is moving up in the public sector IT agenda but it must be said that the delivery model still constitutes a relatively small part of the overall IT estate. Half (50%) of the public sector report their primary approach to IT as being on-premises, 14% in the Cloud, with the remainder stating that their approach to IT was a hybrid. Would you describe your primary approach to IT as being: Public sector Private sector 0% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% ON-PREMISES HYBRID IN THE CLOUD The proportion of public sector organisations intent on moving their entire IT estates to the Cloud has increased significantly over the past year; expect to move everything to the Cloud as soon as is practical, up from just 7% in 2014 and a higher proportion than in the private sector. However, the majority expect to maintain Hybrid IT estates for the foreseeable future, and 56% of public sector organisations state they will keep specific applications and services on-premises. Do you foresee that you will ever move your entire IT estate to remotely hosted Cloud Services? 56% 8% YES: as soon as practical YES: based on operational refresh of servers & applications YES: although the Cloud isn t ready for us to make this move yet NO: we intend to keep specific applications & services on-premises While we have seen widespread adoption of services such as video conferencing (63%), collaboration (56%), VOIP (56%) and (51%), migration of more sensitive applications, such as finance and security have been less forthcoming (see table on the next page). five

6 Do you use hosted or Cloud-based services for the following applications? APPLICATIONS Began using more than 3 years ago Began using within the last 3 years Began using within the last 12 months Plan to use in the future Accounting & finance applications 4% 4% 27% 12% Active directory/credentials 5% 15% 7% 22% Advertising & online marketing services 4% 22% 33% 26% Collaboration services 6% 32% 20% CRM 3% 11% 19% 24% Customer contact centre 0% 19% 13% 24% Data backup/disaster recovery services 4% 16% 27% 14% Data storage services 4% 12% 27% 16% Database/business intelligence 3% 20% 4% Document management 5% 17% services 31% 9% eshop services File & print management Infrastructure IT asset management services IT operations management IT security services Managed IT services 0% 3% 6% 3% 3% 2% 7% 21% 8% 13% 5% 17% 15% 32% 15% 26% 15% 23% 9% 27% 42% 15% 26% 28% 12% The perceived barriers of data regulation and security will likely fall by the wayside as comfort with, and confidence in, Cloud continues to develop Niche vertical applications 16% 4% 20% 20% Office automation/productivity 3% 14% 19% 32% Partner relationship management 9% 1% 30% 43% Personnel and payroll 8% 17% 13% 9% Portal services 13% 26% 22% Sales management 5% 11% 26% 32% Service management/help desk services 5% 24% 20% Unified communications 9% 9% 24% 16% Video conferencing 9% 13% 41% 9% VOIP 3% 9% 44% 6% Webhosting 16% 16% 21% 26% Workflow systems 4% 11% 29% 17% Will we ever see very high levels of penetration in the public sector? In short, yes. The perceived barriers of data regulation and security (detailed later in the report) will likely fall by the wayside as comfort with, and confidence in, Cloud continues to develop, and as budget restrictions and initiatives such as the Government s Cloud First scheme start to take hold. However, understanding the organisational environment is critical to deepening our understanding of how and why public sector bodies are using Cloud, and what may stand in the way of further adoptions. Existing investments in legacy technology will impact the economic viability of moving to the Cloud in the immediate term and, by necessity, slow the pace of adoption. The widespread use of large-scale Systems Integrators (SI) in the public sector also poses a significant barrier to adoption. Over the years many government departments and agencies have outsourced their ICT services to SIs, in some instances believing they had also outsourced the risk by doing so. However, outsourcing everything to SIs has been proven not to work on many levels, and has resulted in an inability to take advantage of new technologies, such as Cloud. Encouragingly, the Government has taken steps to disaggregate public sector IT estates and open the door to the innovation and agility provided by SME IT providers and Cloud Services. six

7 Current public sector IT landscape: Eight in ten (80%) public sector organisations that use Cloud, or expect to, include consideration of Cloud Services within their wider IT strategies; 70% of public sector organisations make new deployment decisions based around infrastructure refresh. With this being the case, it is the Cloud Industry Forum s belief that the recent end of support for Windows Server 2003, which formally concluded in July 2015, will have prompted a wave of new Cloud migrations in the latter half of the year; The percentage of public sector organisations that operate on-site servers or data centres is declining gradually. This figure has dropped from 92% in 2013 to 80% today; Does your company include consideration for Cloud Services within its wider IT strategy? 20% YES NO 80% Does your company operate on-site servers? YES NO 20% It is the Cloud Industry Forum s belief that the recent end of support for Windows Server 2003, will have prompted a wave of new Cloud migrations 80% Do you consider infrastructure refresh a reason to adopt other deployment models like Cloud IaaS/SaaS or third party hosting? 30% YES NO 70% seven

8 Drivers of Cloud adoption Public sector organisations report a wide range of reasons for initially adopting Cloud-based services; the number one primary reason is operational cost savings (26%), though overall it would seem that it is the flexibility of the delivery model that factored most highly, cited as a reason by 87% of respondents. This is highly encouraging. For the increasingly squeezed public sector, the potential cost savings that Cloud can offer will always be a draw, but the data suggests that public sector organisations are alive to the transformational effects that the flexibility of the delivery model can bring. Interestingly, policy decisions were cited as the primary reason in of cases, up from 4% in 2014, indicating that Government initiatives such as Digital by Default and Cloud First are making themselves felt in the public sector. Over the coming year, we expect these figures to increase further still. Which of these were reasons for initially adopting hosted or Cloud-based services? Flexibility of delivery Operational cost savings Scalability Limited internal resource priorities 24/7 service dependence Low cost of adoption Policy decision Return on Investment vs on-premises Avoiding additional capex New service no experience Lack of in house skills Temporary project Time to market deadline Government initiatives such as Digital by Default and Cloud First are making themselves felt in the public sector 0% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% THIS WAS A REASON THIS WAS THE PRIMARY REASON Respondents report a wide range of reasons for their continued investments in Cloud, though enabling innovation and the lower cost of ownership of the delivery model rank most highly (cited by 36% respectively). These were followed closely by the need to replace legacy IT (33%) and reduce capex (33%). eight

9 Which of the following business objectives have or are driving investment initiatives in Cloud within your organisation? Lower total cost of ownership Enabling innovation Replacing legacy IT technologies Capex savings Enhancing business continuity Improving customer support/service Development of new product or services Flexibility reacting changing market conditions Speed of deployment Improved return on investment Enhanced data analytics Gaining competitive advantage New revenue generation opportunities Respondents report a wide range of reasons for their continued investments in Cloud, though enabling innovation and the lower cost of ownership of the delivery model rank most highly 0% 20% 30% 40% Business case justification and Cloud migration The decision-making process to move to the Cloud involves a wide range of stakeholders, and it is increasingly a Board-level decision. Directors and public sector finance heads are heavily involved, though the final decision-maker is the Head of IT in the majority of cases (67%). Who was involved, and to what extent, in the decision-making process to move to the Cloud? Director Head of IT Head of finance Head of the user department Head of security/dp 0% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% INVOLVED FINAL DECISION MAKER However, once the decision to move to a Cloud service has been made, migrating to it has proven challenging for the majority of Cloud users in the public sector. Just one in ten () reported complete satisfaction with their chosen method of migration, with the remainder stating it could have been improved in some way. nine

10 How satisfactory has your chosen method for migrating to the Cloud been? 0% 5% 28% 1: Completely unsatisfactory 2: Somewhat unsatisfactory 3: Neutral 4: Somewhat satisfactory 5: Completely satisfactory 56% In terms of the areas that fell short of end users expectations, 46% expected their Cloud migration to have been cheaper, 38% wanted their Cloud provider to have offered more support, and 28% stated their Cloud provider could have offered a more customised service. From a technical and practical point of view, migrating to the Cloud poses its own issues. Complexity of migration was difficult for 44% of respondents, followed closely by data sovereignty (41%). How could your chosen method of migration have been improved? Cheaper Easier Cloud provider could have offered more/ better support Cloud provider could have offered more/ better tools Quicker Cloud provider could have offered a more customised service 0% 20% 30% 40% 50% 46% wished their Cloud migration had been cheaper, 38% wanted their Cloud provider to have offered more support, and 28% stated their Cloud provider could have offered a more customised service ten

11 Which, if any, of the following difficulties did you experience migrating to a Cloud solution? Complexity of migration Data sovereignty concerns Dependency on internet access Contractual issues such as liability Vendor lock in It took longer than we had originally allocated time for, or been quoted The actual cost was more than we had originally envisaged, or been quoted Confidence in the clarity of charges (i.e. will they be cheaper on-premises) Lack of confidence in vendor 0% 20% 30% 40% 50% These difficulties are not without consequence; around half (49%) of public sector Cloud users reported a delay in product/service development, 35% a loss in employee productivity, and 22% a loss in employee or citizen loyalty/confidence. What was the business impact of these difficulties? Delay in product/service development Loss of employee productivity Loss of customer confidence/loyalty Loss of revenue Loss of customers Delay in getting products/services to market Loss of repeat business Loss of new business These difficulties had no impact 49% of public sector Cloud users reported a delay in product/service development, 35% a loss in employee productivity, and 22% a loss in citizen loyalty/confidence 0% 20% 30% 40% 50% The root causes of these difficulties/challenges are not easy to identify. There may be a case that Cloud Providers should do more to set expectations with end user organisations to remove any uncertainty about migration prior to embarking on a project. But, equally, it s incumbent on end users to ensure that they are fully prepared for the challenges that migration can bring. eleven

12 Impact on the IT department Historically, many IT departments have shown a reluctance to move to Cloud-based computing out for fear for their job security. However, the idea that Cloud is a threat to the existence of the IT department is unfounded indeed, in the majority of cases, the opposite is often true. The data suggests that Cloud computing is leading to the emergence of a more strategically important IT department. Free of the burden of infrastructure and application maintenance, roughly a third (31%) of respondents now have more time to spend on strategy, 15% spend more on value-added activities and spend more time talking to vendors. What impact has Cloud migration had on the structure of the IT department in your organisation? Team has been maintained but focused on new priorities Team has remained unchanged but workload for maintenance reduced It has encouraged self-service purchasing of IT by people/departments outside of the IT department Team has been reduced in size New practices implemented to monitor and manage IT end to end in a distributed environment Cloud migration has not had an impact on the structure of our IT department 0% 20% 30% 40% 50% Has your role changed with the adoption of Cloud-based solutions in your organisation? The data suggests that Cloud computing is leading to the emergence of a more strategically important IT department I spend less time on general server management I spend more time planning strategy/ activity I spend less time troubleshooting application issues I spend more time on value-added activities I spend less time troubleshooting server issues I spend more time talking to vendors My role has not changed with the adoption of Cloud-based solutions 0% 20% 30% 40% 50% twelve

13 The economics and benefits of Cloud Much has been said, and promised, by the Cloud industry about the potential Cloud holds for cutting the cost of IT. In this regard, public sector Cloud projects have been highly successful. Public sector organisations that use Cloud are currently saving, on average, 13% on their IT expenditure, though respondents expect this to climb to around a fifth (21%) within the next five years. What cost savings are you experiencing from your organisation s use of Cloud Services? SAVINGS Currently In next 12 months In next 2 years In next 5 years Nothing - -20% 20%-35% 35%-50% 50%-75% 75%+ 17% 12% 15% 15% 41% 34% 22% 17% 20% 27% 27% 24% 7% 12% 22% 22% 15% 5% 17% 0% 5% 2% 0% 0% 0% 2% Average savings 13.23% 16.77% 18.11% 21.16% Public sector organisations that use Cloud are currently saving, on average, 13% on their IT expenditure However, although cost savings do often materialise, the real value of Cloud sits elsewhere. The vast majority (87%) of public sector Cloud users report being satisfied with their use of Cloud Services, owing in no small part to the fact that Cloud Services are, by and large, helping to meet their business objectives; nine in ten (90%) have successfully reduced capital expenditure, 85% have seen improvements to the reliability of their IT, and 79% have improved their cash flows, albeit sometimes with difficulty. This is, in turn, translating to tangible and intangible benefits, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations. Which of the following business objectives were achieved when migrating to the Cloud? Reducing capital expenditure Improving cash flow Increasing speed of access to technology Increasing flexibility of access to technology (i.e. ability to increase or decrease use) Reducing the risk of lost data Reducing the requirement for number of skilled personnel in-house Reducing the pressure on IT staff within the company Improving uptime/reliability of IT Improving service levels of IT 0% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% OBJECTIVE NOT ACHIEVED OBJECTIVE WAS ACHIEVED WITH DIFFICULTY OBJECTIVE WAS ACHIEVED EASILY thirteen

14 The vast majority have experienced tangible benefits as a direct result of their Cloud service deployments, these include more flexible access to technology, and reduced pressure on IT staff within the organisation. Perhaps more interesting are the intangible benefits; roughly a third (32%) state they ve seen improvements to their customer/citizen services, 27% report better collaboration between departments, while one in four have seen their ability to communicate improve. Which of the following tangible benefits of Cloud Services deployment has your organisation achieved? More flexible access to technology (i.e. ability to increase or decrease use) Faster access to technology Improved cash flow Reduces the pressure on IT staff within the company Reduction in capital expenditure An on-demand/predictable cost A reduced risk of loss of data or service by hosting externally Cost savings over on-premises solutions Higher availability through fault tolerant solutions Reduces requirement for number of skilled personnel in-house Enhanced productivity My organisation has not achieved any tangible benefits of Cloud Services deployment 32% state they ve seen improvements to their customer/ citizen services, 27% report better collaboration between departments, while one in four have seen their ability to communicate improve 0% 20% 30% 40% 50% Which of the following intangible benefits of Cloud Services deployment has your organisation experienced? Improved customer service Improved collaboration between departments Improved customer engagement Doing more development through an agile methodology Improved communication between departments Lowering barriers to IT Improved communication within the IT department Improved employee satisfaction Improved collaboration within the IT department Improved business resilience Preventing vendor lock-in My organisation has not experienced any intangible benefits of Cloud Services deployment 0% 20% 30% 40% 50% fourteen

15 Barriers to adoption In spite of mounting levels of adoption, concerns about data security, privacy and regulatory constraints show no sign of going away and are, in some cases, increasing. Although they are important issues, particularly for public bodies, with the correct control mechanisms and frameworks in place, they are surmountable. Given the imperative for public sector bodies to drive efficiencies and cope with budget restrictions, more widespread and deeper adoption of Cloud Services is inevitable and it is critical that public sector organisations can find ways to overcome these perceived barriers. Perhaps not surprisingly, the public sector appears to be more sensitive to data security and data protection than the private sector; 75% of respondents from public sector cited data protection concerns as a reason for not wishing to move certain applications to the Cloud, compared with just 56% of those from the private sector. Similarly, four in five (79%) expressed concerns about security. What are the primary reasons for not wishing to move specific applications to Cloud Services? REASONS Security concerns Data protection concerns Investments already made in on-premises Legacy technology restrictions Efficiency Protection of intellectual property Retention of key skills Public sector 79% 75% 39% 43% 36% Private sector 74% 56% 46% 41% 41% 33% 25% 75% of the public sector cited data protection concerns as a reason for not wishing to move certain applications to the Cloud and 79% expressed concerns about security Proprietary technology 20% fifteen

16 Beyond these issues, confidence in vendors and contractual frameworks also factor highly amongst public sector concerns about Cloud. Indeed, public sector organisations are significantly more likely to express concerns around these issues than their private sector counterparts; twofifths (38%) expressed concerns about the reliability of vendors during decision-making process to migrate to the Cloud, 41% were worried about contract lock-in, and 28% were unsure about the clarity of charges. What concerns were expressed during the decision-making process to migrate to the Cloud? CONCERNS Public sector Private sector Data security 74% 69% Data privacy Contract lock-in Confidence in the reliability of the vendors Cost of change/migration Fear of loss of control/manageability Data sovereignty/jurisdiction Regulatory constraints Confidence in clarity of charges (cheaper than on-premises?) Contractual liability for services if SLAs are missed Dependency on internet access (availability & bandwidth) No clarity of impact of Cloud Services on business processes Confidence in knowing who to choose to supply service Confidence in the vendors business capability 59% 41% 38% 36% 33% 31% 31% 28% 23% 21% 21% 21% 61% 22% 26% 27% 41% 30% 22% 12% 19% 28% 12% 16% 38% expressed concerns about the reliability of vendors during decisionmaking process to migrate to the Cloud, 41% were worried about contract lockin, and 28% were unsure about the clarity of charges No clarity in most appropriate Cloud deployment model 8% No confidence in the business case to need Cloud Services 8% No clarity in most effective service delivery model 6% No advice from within the company to adopt 5% This lack of confidence in vendors and contractual frameworks is significant, and, indeed, significantly higher than the levels reported by respondents from the private sector. Migrating to Cloud Services, and managing them when they are up and running, requires a different skill set to traditional, proprietary IT, something which many IT departments, particularly those in the public sector, may not be fully prepared for. Years of austerity and a reliance on large SIs have seen many IT departments in public sector bodies stripped back, now lacking the necessary skills and staff to confidently move to the Cloud. Prior to embarking on any Cloud project, end users must educate themselves about what constitutes a credible Cloud Service Provider (CSP), engage with suppliers to understand their market offering and capabilities, and make their selection accordingly. Here government procurement frameworks, such as the Crown Commercial Service s Network Services Agreement and G-Cloud, can help. Knowing which questions to ask a prospective Cloud supplier is critical to ensuring that the contracts provide sufficient protection and service levels, the data is looked after when hosted and, ultimately, that the Cloud provider is trustworthy, reliable and transparent in the way that it operates. sixteen

17 The CIF Code of Practice Accreditation and certification schemes, such as the Cloud Industry Forum s Code of Practice, have a major role to play in the CSP selection process, and, indeed, are in high demand; some 70% of respondents stated that they would prefer to work with a provider that has publicly committed to an industry code of practice over one that has no public accountability. Today, CIF continues to operate the only certified Code of Practice for Cloud Service Providers, and this has now been formally recognised by the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA). The CIF Code of Practice exists as an independent benchmark of best practice and key credentials that credible CSPs should be able to measure up to and be able to provide sufficient assurance about their transparency, capability and accountability of their offering to the market. Do you see value in working with Cloud Service Providers who have publicly signed up to an industry code of practice that is independently audited over those that have no public accountability? CIF continues to operate the only certified Code of Practice for Cloud Service Providers, and this has now been formally recognised by the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA) YES NO 30% 70% seventeen

18 Conclusion Driven by a need to limit expenditure on IT, increase flexibility in the IT estate and improve the services for citizens, the UK s public sector is fast turning to Cloud. Slowly but surely, government departments are chipping away at the dominance of large IT suppliers that have come to characterise public sector IT. Switching to more agile suppliers whose Cloud-based alternatives can ultimately offer better value for taxpayers money and radically change the way that public sector organisations operate. We have seen that Cloud services are having a profound impact on the capabilities of public bodies, driving both tangible and intangible benefits. Free of the burden of the day-to-day management of IT, public sector IT departments have been able to cultivate more strategic roles within their respective organisations and focus on adding value. Moreover, Cloud users routinely report improvements in collaboration, flexibility, efficiency and, importantly, reductions in overall IT spend. Cloud is fostering innovation in the sector by allowing organisations to cost effectively and quickly explore the potential of new, IT-enabled enhancements that can grow with unprecedented scale without incurring the risks associated with traditional IT projects. Rather than investing in IT infrastructure that may or, as is often the case, may not be sufficient to meet the needs of the organisation, Cloud offers the opportunity for public sector organisations to right-size their IT. Being able to scale up when additional services are needed (for example, around the tax return deadline) and scale down when possible avoids extended periods of under-utilised IT capacity and goes a long way reducing overall IT spend. We have, however, seen a number of residual concerns and challenges confronting public sector leaders when moving to Cloud services, which must and can be overcome. The research clearly demonstrates that organisations should take the time to pre-engage with suppliers prior to procuring their services to get a full understanding of their capabilities, security mechanisms, test their assumptions and firm up their requirements. Equally, public sector organisations should take the time to understand the potential impact of Cloud on their wider IT estates and ensure that they are aware of the challenges posed by migration to Cloud services, be they cultural or technical. To move forward, IT departments in the public sector must begin to look differently at how the delivery of Cloud can help drive innovation for the benefit of their respective organisations and, in turn, for citizens. As the first step, strong leadership is required from IT managers to take their organisations to new levels of performance and efficiency through IT, while also focusing on improving service, reducing costs and managing growing risks in an ever-connected world. IT leaders in the public sector must begin to look differently at how the delivery of Cloud can help drive innovation eighteen

19 Notes nineteen

20 Outsourcery is a world-leading UK-based Cloud Services Provider (CSP), offering one of the broadest offerings of Cloud-based services built on Microsoft s technology and best-of-breed Dell and HP hardware, for businesses of all sizes. The company aims to remove the need for organisations to own and manage on-premises IT, Unified Communications and conferencing applications and infrastructure. End customers range from start-ups to FTSE-100 businesses and Outsourcery serves an extensive partner base of over 500 IT and telco providers, which include Virgin Media Business and Vodafone. Outsourcery s service portfolio is also available to the public sector and listed on the Digital Marketplace as part of the government s G-Cloud initiative. Outsourcery s O-Cloud platform is certified to run government classified information at OFFICIAL and OFFICIAL SENSITIVE over the internet, giving the business CESG Pan Government Accreditation (PGA) (formerly IL2) to meet data sovereignty and security specifications for the public sector. The second phase of this offering become available in early 2015 with the deployment of a high security platform, accredited to carry OFFICIAL and OFFICIAL SENSITIVE classified documentation, with PGA and Public Services Network (PSN) Protect (formerly IL3) connectivity. Outsourcery is a Microsoft Certified Gold Partner with a total of eight competencies of which three are gold and five are silver. As well as being the first company outside of the US to be named Microsoft s worldwide Hosting Solutions Partner of the Year, Outsourcery is a Microsoft CityNext Partner and a Microsoft Cloud Accelerate Partner. Outsourcery is also an HP Cloud Agile Partner and was the winner of HP s Most Innovative Service Award in As well as being a founding member of the Cloud Industry Forum, Outsourcery was awarded the UK Cloud Award Collaboration Partner of the Year in The company is a corporate member of MSDUK, a member of TechUK and holds ISO 27001, ISO 9001 and ISO standards. Outsourcery t e info@outsourcery.co.uk The Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) was established in direct response to the evolving supply models for the delivery of software and IT services. Our aim is to provide much needed clarity for end users when assessing and selecting Cloud Service Providers based upon the clear, consistent and relevant provision of key information about the organisation/s, their capabilities and operational commitments. We achieve this through a process of self-certification of vendors to a Cloud Service Provider Code of Practice requiring executive commitment and operational actions to ensure the provision of critical information through the contracting process. This Code of Practice, and the use of the related Certification Mark on participant s websites, is intended to provide comfort and promote trust to businesses and individuals wishing to leverage the commercial, financial and agile operations capabilities that the Cloudbased and hosted solutions can cover. The Cloud Industry Forum c/o Federation at York House, 18 York Road, Maidenhead SL6 1SF t e info@cloudindustryforum.org This Cloud document Forum IP is Ltd based 2015 on research and is intended to be representative and educational but the advice contained is opinion and cannot be considered a complete assessment. one Readers should not rely on this document in its own right but should take appropriate independent and informed advice. OUT/OTH000001/WP