Standfirst

The UK government's Digital Britain report cited its plans for an ongoing data center consolidation strategy but no one knows much about it

Text

The plan for public sector data center consolidation, if it exists, does not appear to be under the responsibility of any single government department. What is being spoken about is the idea of shared infrastructure, that is, multiple government departments, universities, or local government authorities operating through consolidated data centers.

The problem, as ever is, deciding who is taking the lead. This particular turf war has yet to be resolved, the choosing a lead authority is a serious barrier to adoption of shared data centers.

While basic problems such as this remain unresolved the government continues to propose ideas such as its G-Cloud initiative. This has been criticised by industry experts who fear it may comprise nothing more substantial than a portfolio of soundbites.

There's little evidence that anyone in government has any tangible ideas for its data centre strategy, and that worried many people.

Recently Data CenterDynamics.com reported that within the Digital Britain report, the government had promised a 'strategy study' which mooted that a 'route map' might be created, which would steer the public sector towards a 'G Cloud'.

This has provoked a concerned response from data center experts. Some complain the nebulous plans might indicate that public sector data center strategy lacks any tangible direction. If the government were a football team, the accusation chanted by its data centre supporters might be that they don't know what they're not yet doing.

The report might make noises about reducing waste, but it's better to judge the government by its actions, argued Dominick Monkhouse, MD of hosting company Peer 1. He has condemned recent public sector projects as a disastrous waste of money.

After one of the largest NHS Trusts in the country, North Bristol NHS Trust, announced the construction of a new