New data facilities centre will put public sector at cutting edge: Ó Muilleoir

Date published: 30 November 2016

Phase One of the Public Sector Data Centres initiative is the first part of a larger scale roll-out of much of the IT services, not only for the Civil Service but also the wider public sector.

The Minister said: “I am keen to see change in the public sector which not only saves the public purse, but also helps us ensure that the public sector is at the cutting edge of the latest technology, driving forward efficiency. These very impressive new data centres will centralise a range of smaller service teams under one roof. The data centres will produce significant savings on running costs in the region of £0.5 million each year and annual savings are projected to grow to around £7.5m for the public sector over the course of the next decade.

“Our citizens deserve and indeed demand high quality digital services and to this end I want to see the public sector speed up the pace of this delivery. The new data facilities will provide a welcome boost towards our efforts and also offer high levels of security and operational stability.”

Anchor tenants for the new Data Centres will include Enterprise IT Assist, Business Services Organisation, NIWater and Translink. BT will manage the operation of the facilities, including continuity plans. The public sector will continue to manage the IT systems within the facilities.