By Iain Rouse, Country Director, Australia, New Zealand, Public Sector, AWS.
Across the world, cloud technologies are transforming how citizens and governments connect, by providing a platform for the rapid creation of innovative, secure, and cost-efficient services.
Now the people of Victoria have been offered the delivery of new cloud-based services from the signing of a State Purchase Contract (SPC) between the Victorian Government and Amazon Web Services Australia Pty Ltd.
The agreement provides standardised terms and conditions for any Victorian government department, and government-owned entity that wishes to use any of the more than 200 cloud services that Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers.
The agreement also extends to administrative offices, local councils, and entities under control of one of the eligible entities.
Five out of nine government departments in Victoria are already taking advantage of the new contract.
AWS has many state and local government agencies among its customers in Victoria, and this new agreement will provide them with streamlined access to cloud services, while also opening access to the cloud for many others.
The Victorian Government has released a digital strategy for a future-ready Victoria with three key outcomes for better, fairer, more accessible services, a digital-ready public sector, and a thriving digital economy.
This agreement helps accelerate delivery of those outcomes by enabling Victorian Government customers to innovate faster on behalf of citizens of Victoria. This includes using machine learning and artificial intelligence at Department of Land Water and Planning (DELWP) who are modelling bushfire behaviour to help reduce risk to life, property and the environment.
Amazon is also invested in a wind farm at Hawkesdale, the company’s first standalone sorting centre in Victoria. As well as its second Melbourne fulfilment centre, and a new corporate office in Melbourne.
