UK cloud hosting provider Memset will make a public sector version of the OpenStack open source cloud stack available on the British government platform G-Cloud 7.

The UK government has an official policy of supporting open standards and open source, Memset hopes for high demand from government customers and partners looking for open source hosting for their applications and data. The Memset offering will be available both via Internet and the Public Sector Network (PSN), making Memset one of the first IaaS providers with both accredited versions of its OpenStack for Government solution.

Westminster UK government cloud
– Thinkstock / David Henderson

Agile development

Memset’s OpenStack for Government services will be located on a set of physical and virtual networking and host resources dedicated to government customers - essentially a Government Community Cloud model. 

Nick Craig-Wood, Memset’s technical director, said: “In line with the government’s digital strategy and the adoption of open source applications and standards, we’re delighted to offer our OpenStack solution designed specifically for government customers.”

“The platform is ideal for agile development environments and rapidly scaling infrastructure. With OpenStack’s standard APIs and an easy to use web interface, customers should find it easier than ever to provision and manage cloud computing resources,” said Craig-Wood.

The platform was developed in-conjunction with a central government department requiring very strong security requirements,

Memset has developed a number of systems for securing APIs and guest operating services, in conjunction with other government departments, and has taken what it has learned to tailor the OpenStack modules and security architecture.