Responsible for ensuring government’s ICT investments support policy outcomes, QGCIO set ICT strategy, polices and standards as well as facilitate strategic relationships with industry partners for cost effective outcomes.
The Challenge
As part of its ongoing focus on efficiency, and in line with its ICT strategy for the next five years, the Queensland State Government has implemented a plan to refurbish its ICT systems with a view to creating a more time and cost effective experience for government agencies and the community. A key part of this strategy is to move away from owning technology assets towards an ICT “in the cloud” service model, which will eliminate the need for future costly upgrades and enhance user functionality. As a result, QGCIO have just completed a six-month trial of operating in a cloud environment, which included:
shifting from Windows XP to Windows 8.
The QGCIO team undertook the trial with the aim of testing the boundaries of a large enterprise operating wholly within the cloud and if this solution could be applied successfully across government’s operations. They are currently in the process of assessing the findings.
The Solution
The solution designed by Datacom was to create a functioning cloud office, including desktop management, new active directory (AD); domain name services (DNS), internet gateway services, web filtering, identity management, cloud storage, mail and apps in compliance with security requirements. As an established ICT service provider for other Government departments, Datacom was provider for other Government departments, Datacom was engaged to implement desktop management services, AD and DNS and assist with help desk duties.
Datacom was also instrumental in managing the integration of all cloud services and worked closely with QGCIO throughout their trial to ensure a flexible and responsive project delivery.
With the assistance of Datacom in managing and trouble-shooting integration issues, the trial provided QGCIO with some useful insights into the benefits and challenges of large complex enterprises operating entirely within the cloud. Initial results have found ongoing operating costs dedicated to ICT have been significantly reduced, with the need for expenditure on hardware almost eliminated. The Datacom solution provided their staff with enhanced functionality, particularly in regards to fast and easy network access remotely or via mobile devices, and greater flexibility for storing, searching and sharing files.
“The trial was about testing whether a government department could operate fully in the cloud and so we pushed the boundaries of our ICT services to see what would and wouldn’t work, and to test troubleshooting solutions. Datacom worked with us to integrate the cloud system so that it all worked end to end.”
Alby Cartner - Senior Consultant, Technology Architecture, QGCIO