What can companies learn from governments using the cloud

23.01.2020 1,171 6

Martin Deshev

Cloud computing is usually associated with business organizations, but government institutions are one of its biggest users. In fact, governments may actually spend more on the cloud than companies.

A survey by Gartner shows that in 2018 companies across all industries spend an average of 20.4% of their IT budgets on the cloud. By comparison, local governments spend 20.6% of their IT budgets on the cloud. National governments spend even more – 22%. And the forecast is that government spending on public clouds will continue to rise by 17.1% on average through 2021.

Lessons to learn

Governments being such big fans of the cloud is certainly an eye-opener for companies. This fact alone should address many of most companies’ fears about the cloud. Gartner expects that governments will also implement private clouds at twice the rate of public clouds though 2021. While private cloud setups aren’t that effective, the preference for them is to be expected for now. But the rise in government public cloud spending is also an indicator that institutions are getting more confident in this service.

And government institutions by default deal with a lot of sensitive data. And they are the prime targets for hackers. So, data security is vital along with fast data processing and better analytics. Cloud services can provide all of that to governments. Plus, it’s easy to setup hybrid cloud solutions and add compliances as needed.

Deloitte also points out several benefits that governments report after using the cloud. They are all very familiar: cost savings, improved efficiency, expanded data-sharing capabilities, increased flexibility, better mission effectiveness and more. Governments also say they see enhanced security, improved analytics by using the cloud.

Giving the cloud a chance

Another issue for governments is the slow rate at which they can add new IT capabilities. In a classic structure, this means maybe even years of procedures and deliveries until the new hardware is implemented. By that time it isn’t new anymore. This is a similar problem for business organizations, as well.

The cloud solves it with ease. Cloud service providers constantly update and upgrade their facilities to keep up with the industry’s pace. Not only does this result in cost savings for the clients, but it also ensures they have access to much more relevant and current hardware and software than they would have otherwise. And it all meets their security and compliance demands.

When approaching the cloud, governments also apply many of the same steps as an enterprise. They identify their needs, they see what part of them can be addressed by the cloud and then they search for the best solutions. This includes detailed research about the providers and their capabilities, services, security and so on. The process isn’t very different in general and it’s a good way to see how to implement cloud services in your organization, too. Basically the governments give you a glimpse of the process and the benefits that come from using the cloud.