Finland Bets on Cloud-First GovTech
Finland is deepening its commitment to secure, cloud-native public services through a new three-year partnership. The government's central ICT Centre, Valtori, has tapped cybersecurity firm Nixu to bolster its cloud security, providing a European model for building resilient and scalable digital government infrastructure.
Valtori's cloud program, initiated in 2019, aims to enable approximately 100 Finnish public sector organizations to securely use cloud environments. The partnership with Nixu (now part of DNV Cyber) is central to this, providing a governance model and a Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) framework to ensure compliance with national security criteria. This initiative is a key component of Finland's broader "Digital Compass" strategy, a roadmap for digital transformation extending to 2030. The strategy focuses on four main areas: digital skills, secure infrastructure, business digitalization, and the enhancement of public digital services. A significant aspect of Finland's digital service evolution is the AuroraAI program, which aims to create a human-centric and ethically sustainable AI-powered society. The program is developing a decentralized network to offer citizens proactive and personalized service paths for various life events, integrating services from public, private, and third-sector providers. Valtori acts as a central ICT integrator for the Finnish government, providing services to all government agencies and institutions. They operate in two distinct environments: a common network for the central government and a high-security network for Finnish security authorities, harmonizing ICT services to ensure they are both seamless and secure. The collaboration with Nixu extends beyond cloud security to bolstering national cyber resilience. This includes projects related to the F-35 fighter jet acquisition, where Nixu is coordinating a cybersecurity ecosystem of over 30 companies and several research institutions to enhance Finland's digital security of supply. At a European level, the move towards cloud-native government services is seen as a strategic asset for enhancing national security and modernizing legacy systems. Many EU governments are establishing dedicated GovTech programs to foster innovation by engaging with smaller, innovative tech providers rather than relying solely on large system integrators. A multi-cloud-first strategy is being advocated to improve service quality, generate fiscal gains, and avoid vendor lock-in.
