Overcoming resistance: Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull launched Canberra Cloud for government agencies. Photo: Rob Homer
The first large scale cloud platform designed solely for the federal government has signed up two government agencies before it opens for business.
"Canberra cloud" is being built at the ACT's light industrial area, Fyshwick, to provide secure storage for sensitive data.
However Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who launched the facility at Parliament House on Monday, said government agencies were resistant to putting their data on the cloud.
"The proposition that your data was safer in a server in your office as opposed to in a big, managed facility with all of the 24-hour oversight and all of the systems, was a big call," he said.
"It is remarkable that people do not reflect more often on the superiority of professionally managed cloud services versus what you can do in your own office or business or agency."
The new data storage facility is being developed by Dimension Data following the federal government's decision to adopt a cloud-first policy.
The company's chief executive Rodd Cunico said the cloud platform in Canberra would be exclusively for federal government agencies and would be able to handle data up to Protected Level.
"This is the first large-scale cloud designed solely for the Australian government in Canberra," he said.
"All services will come on stream early next year ... we guarantee that the data will remain here in Canberra.
"We want to see the Australian government reap the benefits of cloud computing in the same way that the private sector has."
The National Disability Insurance Agency and the Finance Department have already signed up to the cloud platform.
The department will use Canberra Cloud to run its video conference booking software as a service.
At the recent G20 summit in Brisbane, the federal government used Dimension Data's cloud platforms to provide services to 7000 delegates.
Mr Turnbull said the government's new policy made it much easier for departments and agencies to adopt cloud services.
"We have mandated cloud-first and we have streamlined the very burdensome data storage policy which for too long was a very big disincentive for agencies to move to the cloud," he said.
"The approach of the former government was less one of risk management than aversion to change."
He said the introduction of the smartphone had fundamentally changed perceptions about cloud computing and led to its early adoption.
"Everybody is now using cloud services themselves, that's what you do on a smartphone," he said.
"The consumer side of cloud took off and that means everyone now knows what you are talking about."
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