UK is on Top of the Clouds

Surprising, as it may be, the UK, is in fact, flying high in the cloud. David Wilde, Westminster City CIO, went so far as to claim the UK has one of the most advanced cloud environments in the world.

“Over the last three years the UK government has embraced the cloud, this combined with a challenging cloud debate fostered by the press and the conference circuit has meant that the private sector has responded with solutions to the challenges faced by end users.”

Wilde explained how in the US, the key difference is that the media have not fully jumped aboard yet. Without media discussion the pressure on suppliers to push ahead lacks strength.

Westminster Council already outsources 60% of its IT infrastructure – Wilde cites 2015 for 100% outsourcing. The council has a mix of public and private clouds – or rather, a hybrid infrastructure – 85% private, 15% hosted in a public cloud.

Westminster Council has joined with Hammersmith and Fulham Council and Kensington and Chelsea Council on a shared NGN managed service. The contract outsources the management of voice, video and other network data. A shared social care system is also on the cards for next year.

Maybe not surprisingly, the recent economic problems have actually projected the UK further into the cloud, and faster. Saving money has become more important than ever. Could we describe cloud life as a frugal one?