cloud.gov.au

What is cloud.gov.au?

Cloud.gov.au was one of the first deliverables for the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) — back when it was the Digital Transformation Office. It started off as a platform tested within DTA’s delivery hubs and was then rolled out as the self-service interface it is today.

Cloud.gov.au uses an open source platform called Cloud Foundry to provide government with access to a secure cloud. It’s been built as a place where government agencies can run web apps, and provides a faster and safer way to change or update web apps. This is executed via a fully automated, continuous delivery pipeline.

Cloud.gov.au currently has 201 apps on staging and 35 in production. A breakdown of these apps can be found on the cloud.gov.au Insights page. Looking at the staging figures, 69 are static websites, 44 are Node.js and 36 are Python. The rest are spread across Go, PHP, Binary and ‘other’. The DTA currently runs the DTA website, Digital Marketplace, the Performance Dashboard, and the australia.gov.au Media Release Service on the cloud.gov.au platform.

Cloud.gov.au can be used by federal, state, territory and local governments.

Features

Some of the features of cloud.gov.au are:

• Built with Platform as a Service (PaaS) technology Cloud Foundry

• Runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS) in the Sydney region

• Secure and scalable — AWS is IRAP certified by the Australian Signals Directorate up to Unclassified DLM, and listed on the ASD Certified Cloud Services List (CCSL)

• SSL certificates are provided and renewed automatically

• Supports a variety of programming languages and frameworks including Go, Java, .NET, Node.js, PHP, Python, Ruby, static files and binaries

• Connects to backend services Postgres, MySQL and ElasticSearch (and the DTA website suggests getting in contact if agencies need any other backend services connected)

Benefits

The DTA lists a variety of benefits for agencies using cloud.gov.au, including:

• A faster and safer way to change web apps

• An easier way to create and release digital solutions, so teams can focus on innovation and citizen-centric development

• Saves time and resources spent on managing infrastructure

• Automated deployment

• The platform’s team follows AWS best practice to help prevent distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks

Many of the features also deliver benefits, such as the platform’s security and scalability, automatic HTTPS/certificates, the ability to use different programming languages and its connection to a variety of backend services.

Getting started on cloud.gov.au

You can find documentation about getting started on the cloud.gov.au website. The first step is to create an account. From there, you can either join an existing project or start your own project.

You can also access cloud.gov.au on GitHub.

Cloud.gov.au and the DTA’s Secure Cloud Strategy

The DTA’s Secure Cloud Strategy ultimately provides agencies with guidelines to develop their own cloud strategies that will meet their unique needs. The DTA’s Secure Cloud Strategy outlines seven principles and seven initiatives for agencies to follow. The Strategy stresses that while cloud.gov.au is a fully supported environment agencies can use, there shouldn’t be ONE single cloud platform for government. You can read more about the Strategy in our DTA Secure Cloud Strategy blog.

Salsa Digital’s take

Cloud.gov.au provides a great platform for government agencies to use, and delivers many benefits. If you haven’t already done so, you should take a look at using cloud.gov.au, bearing in mind your individual needs and the DTA’s Secure Cloud Strategy. The first step is to sign up for an account at cloud.gov.au.