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The shift to the cloud is widespread but public-sector organizations face different challenges when making the move. Traditional IT systems are often mandated, limiting innovation and new services. But even now that new legal frameworks make cloud deployments possible, it can be challenging to uncover the technology’s full potential in digital-transformation projects. However, such an initiative delivered substantial benefits to residents while simplifying administrative procedures, adhering to compliance requirements, and delivering self-training.

An on-premises solution was not an option for one government agency in Germany, so it needed digital sovereignty that avoided vendor lock-ins and data retention. The new system had to be scalable and offer identical infrastructure for three departments. In addition, the organization wanted help maintaining its IT landscape and scaling up at the necessary speed. This pushed the agency to engage ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ as its partner, gaining access to industry-leading expertise related to the public sector and substantial experience with various cloud technologies.

Providing a blueprint for cloud

Working with ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½, the organization underwent a lengthy pre-qualification phase. As a result, the team chose Google Cloud as the best fit for its needs since it was able to ensure data could be maintained in line with German security parameters and regulations. Throughout this process, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ helped the agency assess, evaluate, and develop a criteria catalog as part of the selection in order to boost innovation on the new platform. The organization relied on ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ to build the infrastructure quickly so they could move into maintenance mode.

For Google Cloud, it’s one of the first implementations in a German public service organization and creates a blueprint for other institutions to follow since it is completely compliant with German and European Union regulations. ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ provided the platform expertise and infrastructure that connects the pieces.

The sovereign cloud ensures data, operational, and software control with continuous monitoring, so the government agency can use cloud services in compliance with all regulations. This was accomplished with the Google Cloud solution providing data sovereignty controls that include encryption keys, administration access, service deployment locations, and partner services (i.e. logs review and BYOID).

Creating a secure cloud environment

The open and solution-oriented cooperation between ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ and Google Cloud resulted in a hybrid cloud-based platform that can be the foundation for other public sector organizations. In the pilot operation, the organization used Cloud Armor from Google Public Cloud to secure its infrastructure and networks at the lower Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) levels. Security measures have also been applied on the application and user level with the help of Google Cloud tooling.

Throughout this project, the agency maintained digital sovereignty, with a focus on the opensource Kubernetes model. Originally designed by Google, this containerization model allows the organization to execute source code in a safe container or move it to another area in isolation, so it does not impact any other infrastructure. There are three identical project instances on Kubernetes clusters, with the ability to add more services easily. Through its partnership with ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½, the organization now has a hybrid cloud platform with survivability, full segregation, and sovereign controls to ensure it meets all requirements and regulations.

Now that the blueprint is established, other ministries, departments, and governments in Germany are exploring the options, knowing that Google Cloud can deliver compliance in a restricted environment.