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The Government will be adopting the Cloud Computing model to meet rising public demands and community expectations on e-government services and reap the benefits of emerging technologies.  We plan to adopt the following strategy in re-provisioning the central IT facilities and building the Government Cloud environment that comprises three service layers -

1. Software as a Service (SaaS):  We will develop shared services for a portfolio of applications/services, including the core systems/services to support electronic information management (including collaborative working and electronic record keeping), human resources management, electronic procurement and support for paper-less meetings.
   
   
2. Platform as a Service (PaaS):  We will develop a new platform for supporting common e-government applications, and a new user directory service for unified identity management, communications and collaboration that complements the government electronic messaging system.
   
   
3. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS):  We will establish the underlying infrastructure including servers, networks, storage and operating systems on a flexible and virtualised basis.  The first batch of government IaaS initiatives includes establishing a virtualised environment in the Government Central Computer Centre .

The proposed Government Cloud environment will include an “in-house private Cloud” owned and operated by the Government, an “outsourced private Cloud” comprising facilities dedicated to the Government in secure data centres operated by contractors, and “public Cloud” for generic services.  An over-arching consideration in determining whether applications and/or data are to be placed in private, public or hybrid Clouds is the level of sensitivity and confidentiality of the data and information involved.

The programme for establishing a Government Cloud environment is an enabler for the transformation and continuous improvement of public service delivery and support to the underpinning government policies.  It offers the opportunity for the Government to increase the value that the community enjoys from the more extensive use of IT in the Government, and also addresses the rising expectations of different stakeholders (including citizens and Government’s internal users) for better public service delivery.

1. Benefits to the Community
   To the community, one of the benefits of deploying the government central IT services to the Cloud Computing model is the overall agility in providing public services and enhancing productivity in implementing government policies.  In addition, this programme will ensure convenient and coherent customer experience across different service channels, and create the option to support additional joined-up channels in future.
   
   
2. Benefits to the Government
   The Cloud approach aims to provide synergy and new opportunities for data/system functions sharing and re-use, particularly for processes straddling across government bureaux / departments for further improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the government workforce.  It enables implementers to focus only on innovations that bring real business value instead of the platform set-up and integration related work.  The deployment of IaaS can also lead to cost savings in both capital and recurrent expenditures on computing resources, because workload can be allocated flexibly and dynamically to the available computer systems, and less equipment can be used.  This also demonstrates the Government’s exemplary role in the reduction of overall carbon footprints and environmental impact.
   
   
3. Benefits to the IT Industry
   For the IT industry, this programme is expected to offer different opportunities for local service providers to provide respective services under the Cloud Computing model.  The skills, infrastructures and business models established in the development process can also foster the further development of the IT industry into other areas of local and external economies.
   
   

The Government Cloud environment and services will be made available to different government bureaux / departments, so that they can execute their own IT-enabled change initiatives in a more agile, cost-effective and joined-up manner.

As cloud computing services and technologies are still evolving, we will work closely with the industry to share experience and align options for enhancing the quality and sustainability of the Government Cloud environment.  We will also continue to explore collaboration and exchange opportunities with our Mainland counterparts, with a view to promote further cooperations between the two places under the National 12th Five-Year Plan.