As defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources, that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.

The buzzword in business isn’t just a fad – cloud is technology giving back.

Government has taken advantage of this advent in computing, and soon citizens of Gauteng will be able to access information faster and with less effort.

The Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) through the Gauteng Department of Finance has taken a decision to consolidate all ICT services into a highly available infrastructure. These include transversal and departmental specific applications, enabling the province to reduce carbon emissions (Green ICT).

In 2006, the United States Department of Energy estimated that US data centres consumed about 1.5 percent of all US electricity use, and current projections show worldwide carbon emissions from data centres will quadruple by 2020.

Consolidating and sharing resources can help curb the waste of data centre mass and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. So yes, the cloud can have a green lining.

The adoption of cloud computing also helps reduce the cost of doing business. Who doesn’t like to hear the sound of money being used for a better purpose within the business?

The GPG will be able to standardise its processes and ensure policies are implemented at a single point, therefore reducing intricacy and improving the level of compliance. The consolidation will help the province reduce duplication of similar applications, leading to a reduction in licensing costs.

Being kinder to the environment and your pocket makes cloud a brilliant innovation in GPG’s mandate for efficient delivery of services. Data-intensive computing in the cloud can be six times faster than in isolated data centers. Applications are quicker to deploy compared to traditional means, and the same applies to procurement of on-demand services. But what’s quality without speed, especially in the country’s most populated province.

The support of this environment will be around the clock ensuring better service levels, making service delivery optimal. To date 76% of government employees have been usurped into the cloud. The business continuity has been built into the solution with better availability of services to business as well as Integration and creation of citizen-focused services. Cloud in government makes services more accessible and easy to deploy to the population. It’s easily accessible, all-inclusive and beats staying on the ground.