Unlocking the Power of Cloud Infrastructure: GovStack’s New Building Block Specifications for Cloud Infrastructure

In today’s digital age, everyone—from governments to individuals—benefits from cloud technology. However, reliance on foreign providers can limit an organization’s control over data and systems. To address this, GovStack has introduced its Cloud Infrastructure Building Block Specifications, which promotes independence, transparency, and security in digital services.

What is Cloud Infrastructure?

Effective cloud infrastructure is like the foundation of a house, supporting every layer of digital services—websites, apps, and data storage—so they operate smoothly. Within this “house,” virtual machines and containers act as rooms, creating secure spaces for applications to run independently.

One can imagine a powerful computer that runs essential applications for your government or organization. When governments prefer to invest in their own data centres (including investment in physical hardware) a cloud environment enables that hardware can be utilised more efficiently e.g. thanks to a flexible scaling without having to start or shut down hardware constantly.

Why Do Governments Need Clear Cloud Infrastructure Guidelines?

Governments increasingly embrace digital transformation of public services like applying for a driver’s license, registering a business, or requesting a birth certificate. To provide these services in a secure way, they must be part of a safe infrastructure environment. Therefore, governments and other institutions are motivated to build their own infrastructure to have control over data sovereignty, security, regulatory compliance, and economic independence. GovStack’s Cloud Infrastructure Specifications provide a full guide for building this reliable environment, empowering government IT teams to integrate all essential components and offer citizens the secure, efficient services they need.

Key Features that GovStack’s Cloud Infrastructure Specifications recommend to Governments

1. Include Automated Deployment – Enables efficient setups for development and production, allowing teams to get services like license renewals and business registrations up and running faster.
2. Ensure Flexibility and Control – Organizations can design and manage their environments using open-source tools and standard guidelines, ensuring their infrastructure adapts to new services and changing demands.
3. Focus on Security by Design – Security measures are embedded at every stage, including access control, staff training, data encryption, and continuous monitoring to keep sensitive information like citizen records secure.
4. Include Identity and Access Management (IAM) – Allows administrators to control access based on job roles, securing sensitive information while allowing necessary access for government officials handling processes like passport applications and social service registrations.
5. Ensure Observability – Continuous monitoring identifies potential issues early, ensuring services like tax filing and healthcare appointments remain reliable and responsive.
6. Focus on Lifecycle Management – Automating the setup and maintenance of cloud infrastructure means that institutions can easily scale up or down as needed, and they can roll back changes if something goes wrong.
7. Monitor Costs – Tracking resource usage is essential, especially for public cloud services. This helps organizations understand their spending and encourages responsible resource use.

In addition to that, GovStack’s specifications provide a single, comprehensive resource for building and integrating cloud infrastructure components, such as:

• Container Clusters – These allow applications to run in isolated, manageable units that are easier to deploy and update, making it faster for governments to launch new services or scale existing ones.
• Virtualisation Layer – The virtualisation layer is an abstraction layer in which storage, network and compute resources can be adapted and expanded as required without having to access the hardware as this is all possible via Internet access. This makes it easier to monitor the system, enables external repairs and allows a much faster response to disruptions and changes in requirements. Like that, services like disaster assistance applications can be managed smoothly.
• IAM and Federation – Ensures secure access across departments, allowing agencies to securely share information while protecting access to sensitive records, such as healthcare and tax information.

Just as a strong foundation supports every part of a house, GovStack’s Cloud Infrastructure Building Block provides a stable base for digital government services, enabling governments to construct secure, efficient, and adaptable digital “homes” for the public services citizens depend on. May that be registering for a new driver’s license, requesting a medical certificate, or filing taxes— all while maintaining the security, control, and flexibility needed for the future.

GovStack’s Cloud and Infrastructure Specifications have been developed by Kurt Garloff, Friederike Zelke, Max Wolfs, Artem Goncharov (all SCS @ OSB Alliance), Nico Lück (GIZ), Ramkumar Permachanahalli, Walid Mathlouthi, Sreepathy H Vardarajan, Ayush Shukla, Yolanda Martinez, Hani Eskandar (all ITU) in cooperation with GIZ, ITU, DIAL, and the Government of Estonia.