Public sector ‘must be prepared’ for switch to cloud computing

There are a host of benefits for councils and other public sector organisations moving to the cloud - but they must “do their homework” before switching, according to a new study.

Researchers at Brunel University London said local authorities should prepare thoroughly and have proper leadership in place before they move IT services to the internet.

They tracked what happens when councils transfer services to the cloud, finding that making the shift too hastily can cause problems.

Under pressure to cut costs, authorities are being urged to move in-house IT services including servers, email and telephones, to internet-based providers.

Warwickshire County Council and the London Borough of Hillingdon were among the UK’s first to announce plans to switch, around 2012.

The Brunel research found that one council made the shift to the cloud too quickly, and was “instantly hit” by hackers.

“These findings have messages for both local government and central government,” said Dr Uthayasankar Sivarajah at Brunel University London.

“One of the authorities faced an immediate security breach that caused chaos,” added Dr Sivarajah, a lecturer in operations and information systems management.

“Data was accessed illegally by an unauthorised third party and the private sector cloud provider blamed human error.”

The study found that chief benefits for councils who adopt the cloud are making it easier for employees to work from home and better information management. However, a lack of data ownership and loss of control and governance were flagged as concerns.

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