The following contains some directional advice on the process of creating a strategy for cloud computing as one of the key general recommendations, which were based on KPMG’s experience in the implementation of similar projects and the evaluation of similar processes in other countries.
Process management • Leadership
Regardless of which entity takes on the responsibility for developing a strategy, these measures, in line with the general recommendation as described below, should have strong and visible public support from key figures in the country (for example members of the government). This recommendation applies equally to both the process of creating a strategy and its implementation.
• Responsible entity
The process of creating a strategy for cloud computing should be managed by a clearly specified public administration entity, which will take full responsibility for the delivery of the final product.
• Team
Despite the fact that, according to the first recommendation, the responsibility for the draft strategy should rest on a certain unit of public administration, a special interdisciplinary team should also be established for this purpose. The team should comprise representatives from other public administration institutions and independent experts. In this way, the involvement of all key public stakeholders can be ensured in the project.
Figure 7.1: Recommendations concerning the cloud computing strategy development process
Process management Use of knowledge and experience
Leadership Responsibleentry Team Experiences from other countries
The European Union regulations and recommendations Cooperation within the IT industry Knowledge and experience of the private sector Focus on users and
their needs
Transparency and communication in the process
• Transparency and communication during the process
The process of creating a strategy (as well as the subsequent process of its implementation) should be fully transparent, i.e. the arrangements or discussions should not take place “behind closed doors,” and documents (both working and final documents) should be publicly available. One of the suggestions for this would be for the responsible department to maintain a blog about work progress. The blog should work in the cloud as a signal, from the very beginning, that public administration is open to cloud computing.
• Focus on users and their needs
During the development of the strategy, there should be a shift away from the primacy of the technical and hardware perspective as called for by the “State 2.0 – a new start for e-administration” report. The starting point should be the end-users (which may be government employees and their customers – the citizens) and their needs, and in the end, should come the functionality to meet those needs. Technical and hardware issues are important only when the aforementioned matters are defined. Cloud computing fits the presented approach particularly well.
Use of knowledge and experience
• Experiences from other countries
While working on the strategy, the organization should call on experiences from other countries. One way is, of course, to examine documents (strategies, analytical reports, research articles, and press releases)
describing other governments’ experiences. It would be advisable, however, to contact entities responsible for similar strategies in other countries and to conduct study visits or workshops, so that information can be heard first hand from the parties involved.
Poland has a unique opportunity to take advantage of the fact that other countries have already gone through this process, so it can avoid others’ mistakes and apply proven standards, taking into account the specificity of the country’s own public administration.
• European Union regulations and recommendations
Organizations should observe and use the results of work performed in developing the EU strategy for the use of cloud computing, and should take into account the EU recommendations in this area. Team members responsible for creating the Polish strategy should take an active part in
Central and Eastern Europe Ltd., a limited liability compan y and a member firm of the KPMG netw ork of independent affiliated with KPMG International Cooperativ e (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity . All rights reserv ed.
the European Commission’s work and engage in the “European Cloud Partnership” (ECP), whose creation was announced for 2012 by the european commission.
• Cooperation with the IT industry
It should also be noted that the work performed on the strategy should include the ICT sector. One suggestion to achieve this would be to invite business representatives from the team mentioned in the previous recommendation, or facilitate the team’s collaboration with business representatives. Business can be represented, for instance, by industry leads.
• Knowledge and experience of the private sector
Market analyses, including an international survey conducted by KPMG*, show that public administration is generally less advanced in the use of cloud computing than the private sector. As for other countries, it is also worth referring to the experiences of large enterprises in the implementation of clouds. Plenty of big businesses are already using cloud computing, hence the application of standards stemming from the business world into public administration can bring additional benefits.