Our data is the most important production tool of the 21st century. To retain control of our data and ensure that citizens and entrepreneurs can trust that their data is in good hands, the government must invest in a government-wide sovereign cloud service. There will be a leading, government-wide approach which all government organisations will adhere to. This will make us less dependent on a small number of external suppliers. We will consciously choose the appropriate solution for each situation.
Why as 1 government?
- There is no government-wide sovereign cloud service available. We are too dependent on a small number of external suppliers, which is unacceptable.
- At present, cloud needs are often identified and tendered by individual government organisations without critical consideration of the choice of supplier. It can be easy to opt for large, international suppliers, but this creates risky dependencies.
- Together, we will create the opportunity to use cloud services. By organising the government more centrally around a standard of cloud services, we will link demand to the right supply (government, Dutch suppliers, European suppliers and, where necessary, third-country suppliers).
Strategic goals
Together, we will set the following strategic goals for the Netherlands’ Digitalisation Strategy:
- We will explore the development of a government-wide sovereign cloud service in collaboration with existing government service providers and the market.
- Our aim is to create a central government marketplace for cloud technologies that matches demand with the right supply, based on standards and European experience. The goal is to move critical data and services away from the public cloud.
What obstacles currently exist?
- There is no government-wide cloud policy.
- A variety of definitions and standards are used for cloud services.
- Government organisations develop cloud needs and solutions individually, or purchase the same solution under different terms and conditions.
- There is no government-wide connection to IT service providers.
- The government is too dependent on a small number of external parties for implementation and execution.
In what areas will we accelerate development as 1 government
- We will establish uniform definitions for the different types of cloud.
- We will provide centralised insight into cloud needs by aggregating the various requests.
- We will select standards from projects such as Haven plus (VNG), SURFCumulus (SURF) and similar European initiatives.
- We will ensure government-wide collaboration that creates opportunities for government-wide use of government IT services, and help each other with implementation.
- We will explore the creation of a government-wide sovereign cloud service.
