Cloud First: A Leap into The Light?

UK public sector organisations are being encouraged to look to the cloud for new services. The publicly-stated approach set out in the Digital Marketplace Strategy is ‘Cloud First’. There is a growing confidence in the cloud and suppliers on the G-Cloud list are now seeing much higher levels of interest.However, the level of engagement varies considerably. While it is very mature in some areas, such as central government it is not as strong in some other areas; local government, healthcare and blue light services.For some organisations, there is much to be discovered, learned and experienced with respect to the cloud.Yet cloud adoption is accelerating in many areas and is clearly seen as a vital and integral part of IT future. Why then, are some public sector organisations taking such a cautious approach? It may be that they feel that the cloud is not yet proven to be resilient enough to support critical services. Wary and risk averse business leaders and CIOs require rock-solid proof points before they will commit to a hosted service. Performance, security, and the critical role that connectivity plays in the delivery of cloud services are also a concern for many.