Following the Federal Cabinet’s approval of Pakistan’s first Cloud Policy, the Ministry of IT and Telecom (MoITT) has decided to establish a cloud office within the ministry, according to reliable sources.
The establishment of a cloud office in the MoITT is the first step toward accelerating the implementation of the cloud policy.
The cloud office will serve as the flag bearer for cloud adoption in Pakistan, defining the criteria for cloud service provider registration in accordance with domestic and international standards, and assisting provinces in their cloud adoption efforts in order to achieve uniformity in cloud adoption across Pakistan.
The Government of Pakistan will oversee the implementation of cloud policy through the establishment of a cloud office. This planned governance structure will lay the groundwork for establishing a structured and formal organizational setup for cloud governance in Pakistan. A cloud office is required to perform the following functions under the cloud policy:
- Establish a classification, accreditation, registration, and compliance framework for Cloud Service Providers based on international benchmarks.
- Carry out or seek compliance from the Cloud Service Providers against established benchmarks.
- Promote a cloud culture and adoption of cloud services across Public Service Entities.
- Provide a time-based No Objection Certificate (NOC) if there is a legitimate reason for deviation/exemption to cloud policy.
- Enforcement of modalities for cloud-first investments.
- Support provinces in the adoption of cloud-first policy in their jurisdictions.
The cloud office will develop benchmarks for all Cloud Service Providers (CSP) who wish to provide services to government entities. The criteria will be based on international benchmarks such as security, dependability, cost, interoperability, and availability, as well as any other parameters that have been established.
To read our blog on “Cloud-Tribe debuts in Pakistan with the goal of filling the gap in the Cloud Computing landscape,” click here.
