Thailand’s Digital Economy and Society Ministry has reportedly tasked state telco National Telecom (NT) to develop a managed platform that enables state agencies to access services from any cloud provider.
According to the Bangkok Post, the proposed ‘cloud managed platform’ (CMP) is intended to replace NT’s existing Government Data Center and Cloud (GDCC) system.
The GDCC currently serves state units nationwide with 25,000 virtual machines (VMs), but the ministry’s deputy permanent secretary, Nattapon Nattasomboon – who also serves as NT’s chair – said that’s not nearly enough to satisfy demand, as state units need 800,000 VMs for cloud adoption.
Consequently, many state units have been leasing capacity from commercial service providers on the side to handle their cloud needs, despite a cabinet mandate that all state agencies must use the GDCC system, the report said.
The CMP project proposes to provide managed access to commercial cloud services, which would give state units centralised access to as much cloud capacity as they need in a more controlled and secure manner, while giving the government more oversight over state use of such services.
Nattapon said that NT will partner with several cloud server providers to ensure smooth operation, according to the report.
The CMP project requires approval from the National Digital Economy and Society Commission before it can go ahead, the report added.