On 26 March 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the information report of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (MoEPRD) on the development of the national data processing cloud, which envisages the consolidation of the computing capacity of the state administration in four data processing centres of national importance with the funds of the The Recovery Fund.
Gatis Ozols, Deputy State Secretary for Digital Transformation at the MoEPRD: "The rapid development of modern technologies, the security situation and the shortage of highly qualified experts are creating a demand to change the model of providing support functions from decentralised at institutional level to centres of national competence. The main benefits on the institutional side will be the ability to focus on core business issues, with infrastructure being handed over to centres of excellence, while professionalisation and specialisation have also been proven to provide higher quality, efficiency and security. The accompanying investment programme to the reforms provides for standardisation and improvement of services, as well as support for the migration of a certain amount of public information resources. In the medium term, we see that this initiative will also contribute to a faster migration of public administrations to a wider use of public and private cloud services, further improving their efficiency and sustainability."
Zane Petre, Head of the European Commission Representation in Latvia, said: "The Recovery Fund investment is a valuable tool for implementing a wide range of major reforms. All EU Member States are making the digital transition - driven by the rapid development of technology, the explosion of digital services and the need to strengthen Europe's global competitiveness. It is worth noting that our common goal, within the framework of the Digital Agenda for Europe, is to have all essential public services available to citizens online in all Member States by 2030. The introduction of a Latvian national federation cloud is an important step towards achieving this goal as well."
The development of the National Data Cloud will be supported under the Recovery Fund. The development of data centres will ensure a more professional and efficiently organised infrastructure service. The Recovery Fund will provide €12 490 800 to improve quality, security and capacity, as well as to migrate information systems to the National Data Processing Cloud, so that institutions will also have access to a certain amount of computing resources at a reduced tariff.
Four institutions have been selected for the implementation of the Recovery Fund investment 2.1.2.2.i. "Latvian National Federated Cloud" projects: the State Joint Stock Company "Latvian State Radio and Television Centre", the National Library of Latvia, the Information Centre of the Ministry of the Interior and the Agricultural Data Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture, which will provide computing infrastructure services for information systems with different access requirements, as well as specialised information and communication technology services corresponding to their competences. For efficient use of resources and management of cyber security risks, it is envisaged to concentrate the technical data processing resources and expertise available to the public administration in four data processing centres.
In the medium term, it is also envisaged to encourage greater involvement of the private sector in the provision of computing infrastructure services to public administrations, wherever this is permissible according to criteria set by the Ministry of Defence and CERT.
Due to the significant impact of the national cloud development projects, they have been identified as strategic projects under the Recovery Fund reforms and investment axis 2.1. "Digital transformation of public administration, including local government".
