The Hong Kong government has launched a private cloud platform to host e-government services shared by various bureaus and departments.
Dubbed Government Cloud Platform, or GovCloud for short, the scheme differs from those such as the UK’s G-Cloud programme and the US’s GovCloud scheme in that it is purely for internal government use, rather than being used as a procurement portal.
Initially, the system will be used to support the development of electronic record-keeping and collaborative working systems. A total of $242 million (£147.28 million) has been earmarked for the implementation of further services over the next five years.
A statement from the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer in Hong Kong stated the service is housed on local infrastructure and fully complies with government security requirements while taking reference from international best practice.
A spokesperson said: “GovCloud is the [Hong Kong] government's first major private cloud computing initiative and is important central information technology (IT) infrastructure with full cloud computing functions.
“Through adopting cloud computing technologies, GovCloud brings about the benefits of cost saving, time saving and enhanced agility in meeting the growing demand of bureaux and departments on IT resources.”
In the UK, the fourth iteration of G-Cloud went live on 31 October 2013. The G-Cloud initiative was launched in 2011 with the first iteration going live in 2012. It is expected that procurement for the fifth version of the service will commence in the coming months.
