“Cloud computing is a new way of delivering computing resources, not a new technology.” The Australian Government Cloud Computing Strategic Direction Paper describes the whole of government policy position on cloud computing. The strategy states that: agencies can choose cloud-based services if demonstrating value for money, fitness for purpose and are adequately secure; provides guidance for agencies on what cloud computing is; and some of the issues and benefits of cloud computing that agencies need to be aware of.
The paper recognises that the public cloud is still evolving, particularly in areas such as security and privacy. These issues need to be adequately resolved before critical government services can be transitioned to the cloud. As a result, the paper outlines three streams of work:
• Stream One – provides agencies with guidance and documentation.
• Stream Two – encourages agencies to adopt public cloud services for public facing “unclassified” government services and to undertake proof of concept studies to fully understand the risks of the cloud environment.
• Stream Three – encourages a strategic approach to cloud. This work is dependent upon greater clarity around projects commissioned under the Data Centre Strategy.
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