The news makes Oracle the first cloud provider to deliver a dedicated, private dual-region cloud for use by the UK public sector and their authorised partners.
The new offering includes a number of Oracle Cloud services, including Oracle Autonomous Database, Kubernetes, Oracle Cloud VMware Solution, and Oracle OCI services and Oracle Fusion Cloud applications.
“Building world-class digital infrastructure is central to the government’s wider digital strategy,” said Lord Gerry Grimstone, the UK’s Minister for Investment.
“To help achieve this it’s key for public sector organisations to have access to services which allow them to operate efficiently, securely and cost effectively. Today’s announcement marks a significant milestone in providing this to the entirety of the public sector – a step I very much welcome.”
The new dual-region government cloud expands on Oracle’s UK Government Cloud Region, which has been used for UK public sector organisations, including the Home Office, NHS BSA, Lambeth Borough Council and Croydon Council.
“We’ve had a Government Cloud Region in the UK for several years, but today’s announcement really unlocks a completely new potential for all of our customers across the UK to take advantage of Oracle’s second-generation Cloud,” added Richard Petley, senior vice president of Oracle UK and Israel.
“This is a completely unique offering to the UK government – no other cloud provider offers the sovereignty and performance we are announcing today. We’ll be working with all aspects of government – both local and central – to help them understand how they make use of the cloud to deliver better services and value to the UK taxpayer.”
In addition, Oracle announced its second commercial cloud region in the UK, Oracle UK West Cloud Region, in Newport, Wales.
Oracle’s dual-region government cloud consists of two separate sites in London and Wales connected by Oracle Cloud’s private network backbone, will not only allow public sector organisations to deploy cloud services in multiple independent regions for disaster recovery, but it will also offer the hosting and storage of all transactional data in the region.
“Wales is a key part of the UK’s digital infrastructure, leading the way in innovation and cyber security, and the perfect place for Oracle to make use of the wealth of expertise and resources we have here,” said Lee Waters, deputy minister for Economy and Transport.
“This project will provide a massive boost to the UK’s public sector, ensuring data is held securely and improving the services provided to the public.”
Oracle’s dual region adheres to the security principles outlined by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), and is built upon the parameters necessary to store OFFICIAL SENSITIVE data.
