DoHAC appoints Google to consolidate data assets

The Australian Department of Health and Aged Care has partnered with Google Cloud to consolidate its data assets and strengthen compliance, following a competitive tendering process.

The Department will initially migrate its Hadoop workloads to Google Cloud Platform before unifying data assets from a range of internal sources on a single repository managed by BigQuery, a core part of the Department’s new data and analytics platform. Google Cloud will operate as one key pillar of the Department’s multicloud strategy, providing support to deliver an integrated multicloud environment, said Google in a statement.

“Consolidating the Department’s data and analytics capabilities has the potential to generate substantial savings while further bolstering compliance and security across sensitive national healthcare data — both key themes for the Australian Government’s long-term digital strategy,” said Brian Senior, Director, Public Sector, Google Cloud, Australia & New Zealand.

“We’re delighted the Department of Health & Aged Care has selected Google Cloud to help govern and secure citizens’ personal data against increasingly sophisticated threats, while also creating a more conducive environment for digital innovation and skills development within Australia’s public sector.”

As a first step, Google Cloud will train up to 70 Department staff, equipping them to take full advantage of the analytics platform within four months.

“The skills required for open source environments like Google Cloud’s are both more widely available and transferrable, expanding the career progression opportunities for public servants and improving government agencies’ ability to attract top talent,” Senior said.

Image credit: iStock.com/Just_Super