Oracle has announced a ‘dual-region Government Cloud’, private cloud infrastructure for the UK government.
The dual-region cloud consists of two data centres for disaster recovery purposes – an existing facility in London plus a new one in Newport, Wales – connected by an Oracle-owned high speed network.
It expands on the company’s existing UK Government Cloud Region, by allowing data to move between the two regions, and includes services such Autonomous Database, Kubernetes, OCI services and Fusion Cloud apps as well as storage.
Oracle senior vice president Richard Petley said that the dual clouds will mean all Oracle’s customers across the UK can get their paws on Oracle’s second-generation cloud.
“This is a completely unique offering to the UK government – no other cloud provider offers the sovereignty and performance we are announcing today.”
Oracle says the new service was designed in collaboration with a number of government ministries and that it “adheres to the security principles outlined by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)”, which includes including restricting access to data to SC-cleared Oracle staff. This will allow the service be used to store official sensitive data, all of which will remain on UK soil unless otherwise agreed, according to Oracle.
In a statement, UK Minister for Investment, Lord Grimstone, said: “Building world-class digital infrastructure is central to the government’s wider digital strategy … Today’s announcement marks a significant milestone in providing this to the entirety of the public sector – a step I very much welcome.”
