Cloud computing: an effective model for the dematerialisation of Italian public administration

Cloud Computing is the new technology introducing new economic and social challenges for the ICT sector. The interest in Cloud Computing has been rapidly growing since the last two years. Not only companies, but also institutions and research bodies start to see how useful it can be for their activities to use the different services offered today by Cloud Computing infrastructures. Within the context of dematerialisation, as stated by the Italian law of 7 August 1990, n. 241 and D.Lgs. 12/1993 n. 93, it is required to the Public Administration to reuse computer programs or their parts, developed on behalf and at the expense of the same or other administrations”. However, over time have not yet been achieved considerable results in terms of software reuse. The Cloud model can help to develop efficient economic results for the PA. Indeed, the Cloud Computing infrastructure eliminates the problems related to the portability and it can be enabled for multi-tenancy, to be used by different institutions, producing relevant time and costs savings. The Public Administration is undergoing a profound transformation oriented towards the citizens’ satisfaction. Within this context, the paper is aimed at raising awareness of the Italian Public Administration on the rationalisation of resources and reduction of administrative costs. In order to identify the Cloud Computing model to be adopted within the Italian PA, we explore the actual Cloud Market, pricing strategies and SLAs.