Australian Govt rolls out new cloud policy
Australian Govt rolls out new cloud policy
A new policy detailing cloud-computing purchases by federal agencies has been unveiled by Australian Communications Minister Stephen Conroy.
It will now be compulsory for federal agencies to consider implementing cloud computing in relation to all future technology purchases, under the Government’s National Cloud Computing Strategy.
Mr Conroy announced the new strategy at the technology industry trade show, CeBIT Australia, held last week in Sydney. It will require such agencies to use the technology where possible, but will not plough major funding into the industry.
The policy read: “Agencies will be required to consider cloud services ... for new ICT procurements. [They] will choose cloud services, where the service represents the best value for money and adequate management of risk, compared to other available options.”
Guidance explaining how federal agencies should do this will be released by the end of this year by The Australian Government Information Management Office and Department of Finance and Deregulation.
Mr Conroy confirmed that all public-facing Government websites would also be moved onto public clouds. “We cannot rely on the resource-based boom times to last forever and indeed the trend is slowing,” he told Financial Review. “In order to protect and maintain our prosperity we need to address Australia’s productivity and enhancing the digital requirement is one of the keys to building productivity and innovation.”
The Government has decided that no new cloud-specific legislation will be produced. “The provisions of the Privacy Act and the Competition and Consumer Act already apply to the cloud services sector,” Mr Conroy confirmed. “However we will be encouraging industry to establish a voluntary cloud consumer protocol to outline agreed industry best practice. The protocol will be developed by the Australian Computer Society”, he went on to say.
Businesses looking to move services into the cloud, should evaluate the performance of their existing network and consider setting up a leased line or MPLS network.
