Why we need a new digital infrastructure for Scotland

HISTORICALLY, discussions regarding investment in infrastructure and its role in stimulating economic growth have focussed more on traditional physical infrastructure: roads, bridges, even airports and rail services. However, as technology increasingly sits at the heart of innovation, investment in digital infrastructure becomes a greater topic for government.

In Scotland, this is particularly critical: our digital technology sector is forecast to grow twice as fast as the Scottish economy in the coming years according to research by Skills Development Scotland and the Digital Technologies Skills Group, something also acknowledged in a new report from the Infrastructure Commission for Scotland (ICS), A blueprint for Scotland.

The Scottish Government recognised the criticality of digital technology in its 2017 Digital Strategy, as it committed to putting “digital at the heart of everything we do”. In order to achieve this the ICS report recommends we need to improve our infrastructure to “ensure every citizen, organisation and business in Scotland has the ability to access digital public services, to undertake trade and commerce and to participate in future global economic markets regardless of geographic location.”

It highlights some immediate blocks in existence today, such as the need for a significantly improved communications infrastructure. As the report notes, “next generation digital services will require low latency which requires data centre capacity located close to people using the services”. A Scottish data centre industry with access to international subsea cables will service our domestic data needs as well as international markets.

This is all positive and it’s satisfying to see how strategy is being driven from real consultation. What’s more exciting, though, is that there is more to

Our digital technology sector is forecast to grow twice as fast as the Scottish economy

come as it’s recognised we are in the middle of the transition to a more digitally-driven economy, and “a clearer, system-wide, long-term assessment of need” is still planned.

This approach is particularly important, especially where the report veers into asking some speculative questions such as whether there should be a “presumption in favour of all public services being based upon scalable public cloud services” and a presumption against “single use, single geography or a single public body bespoke infrastructure”.

Over the last 12 months, we have seen a shift in how organisations are approaching cloud technology to deliver digital services. Hybrid cloud strategies, which encourage organisations to adopt a framework which blends the benefits of on-premises, co-location, public and private cloud services, have become the de facto standard for organisations. This has been driven by the realisation that growth isn’t determined by choosing one cloud technology over another but is often more about having the capability to choose when to realise existing investments; building compliance that works across platforms; having the ability to tailor performance to specific need; choosing when to apply cost flexibility; and allowing the time to build and mature skills. Hybrid cloud is a more realistic route to actual growth for government and public sector organisations than a public-cloud-only strategy, and we believe that a deeper assessment into this subject will reveal that too.

A great start has been made in this report by listening to the realities of those whose organisations depend on digital growth. Ensuring this approach continues as the recommendations develop into real strategy, will enable us all to continue growing.

Agenda is a column for outside contributors.

Contact: agenda@theherald.co.uk