NHS Digital has reached an agreement with software firm VMware to provide NHS organisations with discounted access to VWware Cloud on Amazon Web Services (AWS).
It is said that the new model will help Trusts, CCGs and other bodies to move their IT services towards cloud-first data centres, saving organisations money on traditional network storage. NHS Digital has already begun migrating data across to the cloud and will continue to move more cloud services across as part of a cloud-first initiative.
Rob Shaw, Deputy Chief Executive of NHS Digital, says: “The uptake of digital services in the NHS is accelerating so the NHS and social care’s IT backbone must be up to the job.
“With VMware Cloud on AWS, we’re providing a resilient platform to support digitally-enabled care today and in the future. We now have a commercial framework in place to enable NHS and public sector organisations to confidently use the cloud. Together we can benefit from the economies of scale and cost efficiencies of this model.”
Mike Flintoft, Associate Director for Platforms and Infrastructure at NHS Digital, adds: “It’s easy to move solutions across the different environments and it’s easy to run and manage. We built a virtual data centre in the AWS cloud in less than three hours. That speed and agility is just what we need to harness innovation and make the best digital services available for the NHS and social care sector.”
