3 examples of government success in the cloud
In my meetings with partners over the past year, I’ve seen significant momentum toward cloud computing in governments worldwide. At the Enterprise Partner Summit in Cannes, the Smart City Expo in Barcelona, and more recently at meetings in the Middle East, I’ve met with Microsoft partners whose government customers are experiencing the benefits of the cloud. Evidence is now emerging that cloud-based solutions help governments meet their top objectives of saving money, improving services, and doing it all in a secure way. Here are three strong examples of government organizations that are doing it right, and using cloud technologies to become more competitive and sustainable.
Huge cost savings in England
Governments always need to improve efficiency and cut costs—and the efficiencies and savings from cloud-delivered services are proving to be amazing. The Wiltshire Council, which serves nearly a half-million citizens in southwest England, cut its IT spending by £5 million a year—about 25 percent—in part by moving to the Microsoft cloud with the help of our partner, Mint Tulip. The Council was the first in the UK to complete an organization-wide implementation of Microsoft Office 365 as part of a cloud-based IT transformation strategy designed to accommodate tight public-sector budgets while improving service delivery to citizens.
Better social services in the Netherlands
Governments are seeing real-life examples of how the cloud improves the lives of citizens. In health and social service agencies, for example, cloud-based solutions enable caseworkers to do things they couldn’t do before. The Netherlands improved its delivery of youth services with help from Microsoft partner WinVision, which launched WinCare, a cloud-first, mobile-first solution based on Microsoft Office 365 and Dynamics CRM Online. The solution replaces paper records with a centralized location to manage social services information, while offering families round-the-clock access to their treatment programs. Instead of going back to the office, caseworkers now access the latest information and update their files in real time on Windows 8 tablets while they’re with families in their homes. They also collaborate electronically with coworkers on cases and action plans, greatly improving outcomes for the families they serve.
Secure mobility in Europe
In the public sector, every cloud conversation hinges on security. Today, we’re seeing proof that cloud-based services can meet government agencies’ high security requirements—even at the level of national security. A European national security agency satisfied stringent e-government conditions by using Microsoft’s SharePoint and Office 365 cloud. The solution, deployed by AvePoint Public Sector, helped the agency reduce security risks and breaches while improving mobility for employees, providing key services such as remote access, content management, and file sharing.
Cloud computing is a new way of thinking—and operating—for government IT departments. It provides new levels of efficiency and cost savings, and enables new solutions for mobile devices, sensor-based data collection, and real-time analytics—all keys to sustainability in the public sector. I encourage you to identify areas in your administration that could be good candidates for testing the benefits of the cloud. For ideas, check out Joel Cherkis’s blog post, 3 top areas for cloud investment, or talk to Microsoft or any of our cloud partners. In the rush to the cloud—and especially with the fast uptake in the public sector—we need to make sure that the savings, services, and security improvements experienced in places like the UK and the Netherlands are available to governments everywhere.
Have a comment or opinion on this post? Let me know @Microsoft_Gov. Or e-mail us at ongovernment@microsoft.com.
