State CIOs get preview of SA Govt cloud policy this month

South Australian agency CIOs will soon get a chance to see the long-awaited state cloud policy that will govern their options when it comes to hosting government data in onshore and offshore cloud facilities.

With political hurdles like the general election now out of the way, a spokesperson for the Office of the CIO told iTnews a draft will be distributed to tech executives within weeks.

“A strategy that focuses on providing stronger advice to agencies around cloud-based options has been drafted and will go out to state government agencies for consultation at the end of this month.

“It will then go out for industry consultation in late November,” she advised.

South Australia will need to make a choice between the cloud first camp – which was yesterday officially joined by the Commonwealth – and the more nuanced approach taken by states like Victoria and NSW.

Either way, agencies are getting impatient to find out what the future holds for them, tech Minister Susan Close admitted in July.

“The government agencies have made it really clear that they want some guidance in interacting with the cloud,” she told a parliamentary estimates committee.

“It will be distributed for consultation very soon.”

In the meantime, however, the OCIO has advised that it will continue to offer case-by-case guidance to agencies who want to take advantage of cloud solutions.