We are exploring the use of hybrid cloud within public sector organisations in line with the Government Digital Service’s (GDS) guidance on ‘public sector use of the Public Cloud’. We would like to ascertain whether the cloud-first policy was fit for purpose and what challenges, if any, have arisen when outlining and implementing your cloud strategy.

1. Do you have a cloud strategy?
Yes, however this is currently being reviewed.

2. When was the cloud strategy defined?
2015 but in the process of being reviewed and updated.

3. If yes, what is the focus of your cloud strategy?
Cloud First (new services in public cloud with some on premises infrastructure or private cloud).

4. What public cloud(s) do you use?
Azure.

5. What percentage of your applications and/or workloads is on premise?
10% - 25%

6. What percentage of your applications and/or workloads is in the public cloud?
Over 75%

7. What percentage of your data is on premise?
0%

8. What percentage of your data is in the public cloud?
100%

9. What percentage of your infrastructure is legacy?
0%

10. Do you have third-party services or solutions on premise that are not cloud-ready or fit for cloud migration?
Yes.

11. What workloads or functions have you moved to the cloud?
Office productivity (e.g. Microsoft 365, Google Workspace)
Citizen-facing digital services (e.g. GOV.UK)
Back-office applications (e.g. transaction processing)
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, cognitive services
Software development/DevOps
Corporate functions (e.g. HR, Finance, CRM)
Intranet
Public website
Backup, business continuity and disaster recovery

12. What challenges did you face when moving to the public cloud?
Migrating certain applications.

13. What percentage of your infrastructure do you plan to be public cloud based in 12 months’ time?
Possibly another 5%.

14. What percentage of your infrastructure do you plan to be public cloud based in three years’ time?
95%

15. How much has your organisation spent on public cloud since the Government’s G-Cloud or ‘cloud-first’ policy was introduced in 2012?
£2,037,766.06 in the last 3 years.

16. How much has your organisation spent on on-premise infrastructure since the Government’s G-Cloud or ‘cloud-first’ policy was introduced in 2012?
£65,080.28 in the last 3 years.

17. How much has your organisation spent on cloud/infrastructure consultancy services in FY 20-21?
£181,653

18. How much was spent on public cloud data egress charges in FY 20-21?
£309.55 in the last 3 years.