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The Government Cloud Platform (GovCloud) was launched today (December 27) to support the hosting of common e-government services for shared use by government bureaux and departments.
"GovCloud is the Government's first major private cloud computing initiative and is important central information technology (IT) infrastructure with full cloud computing functions. It provides computing resources, including server, storage and network resources, for bureaux and departments," a spokesman for the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer said.
GovCloud, housed in local data centres operated by a contractor, comprises facilities dedicated to government use. It was designed and implemented with reference to international best practices of cloud computing and in full compliance with stringent government security requirements.
"With robust and fully resilient infrastructure, GovCloud provides a stable and reliable environment for bureaux and departments to develop and host their e-government services.
"Through adopting cloud computing technologies, GovCloud brings about the benefits of cost saving, time saving and enhanced agility in meeting the growing demand of bureaux and departments on IT resources. This will expedite development and delivery of e-government services," the spokesman said.
GovCloud initially supports the development of electronic record-keeping and collaborative working systems for shared use by bureaux and departments. It will be progressively rolled out to support more e-government services. A total of $242 million has been earmarked to implement GovCloud services in the coming five years.
Ends/Friday, December 27, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:01
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