18.05.12
59% of IT staff ‘undecided’ on CloudStore
A lack of enthusiasm and understanding from public sector IT staff might lead the Government to miss its cloud computing targets, a new report suggests.
The Government launched the CloudStore in February to offer services that meet Government standards to the public sector, aiming to reduce IT costs by £200m each year. The G-Cloud plan target is for 50% of new Government IT spending to move to the cloud by 2015.
But a new study indicates the take-up of procurement via CloudStore is not yet widespread. ‘Smart Savings 3, G-Cloud Progress’, commissioned by VMware, found that 59% of the IT staff surveyed said they were ‘undecided’ on whether to use CloudStore to buy cloud services.
Furthermore, only 31% said they would probably or definitely use CloudStore. The reasons given for not using the store included being tied in to existing contracts for these services, worries about security, and a lack of understanding about cloud technologies, the report found.
Andy Tait, VMware’s head of public sector strategy and former deputy G-Cloud director, said: “Some of these are good reasons – if a department is locked in to a long term contract then that’s a problem. But there is also an element of cultural resistance as this is a change to the way things are done.”
ChrisChant, who recently retired as the Cabinet Office’s lead official on CloudStore, told the recent SOCITM spring conference: “We’re not saying that cloud is right for everything; despite what people may like to say in the press, or tweet, that’s never been what we’ve said. What we’re saying is, we’re making these services available much more easily to people.”
For more from the conference, see the upcoming May/June edition of PSE. Public sector professionals can subscribe for free at www.publicsectorexecutive.com/Subscribe.aspx
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