The Central Dutch Government has struck a deal with Google Cloud to offer it with access to its Workspace portfolio of cloud-based collaboration and productivity tools, further strengthening Google Cloud’s grip on the Dutch public sector.
The Central Dutch Government acknowledged in a statement that the agreement will help its departments shift toward hybrid working methods, while also allowing them to adopt the multicloud paradigm of IT service consumption.
“The new agreement’s goal is to make it easier and more efficient for Central Dutch government institutions to use the entire range of Google Workspace technologies under pre-negotiated terms,” the organization stated in a statement.
“Organisations will be able to fully exploit a range of technologies…to improve digital services for Dutch residents and support new hybrid-working environments” says the report.
Google Workspace, formerly known as G-Suite, is a cloud-based productivity and collaboration suite that includes email, instant messaging, online document storage, and video conferencing.
The Central Dutch Government initiated a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) for Google Workplace in 2020, laying the framework for the Google Cloud agreement.
The Dutch education sector conducted a similar exercise around Google Cloud, which the statement described as a “normal step” for public sector organizations wanting to purchase new technologies.
“DPIAs assist organizations in better understanding how they collect and secure personal data, as well as defining GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation] compliance standards,” according to the statement.
“As a result of this process, the Dutch Central Government, Dutch education sector organizations/institutions, and Google Cloud have reached an agreement and will continue to collaborate on the DPIA proposals.”
The transaction, according to Joris Schoonis, general director of Benelux at Google Cloud, represents the beginning of a new chapter in the ongoing collaboration between the Dutch government and the digital giant.
“As the outcomes of the DPIAs come to fruition, this is a watershed moment in Google Cloud’s partnership with the Central Dutch Government.” “We’ve built Google Workspace products and solutions, including Google Workspace for Education, to secure and protect our clients’ data,” Schoonis explained.
“While following the tight security and privacy regulations, our solutions will empower the Dutch public sector.” We also look forward to assisting public sector entities with better choice and flexibility, as we already do for educational institutions in the Netherlands, by providing access to new solutions with cutting-edge security and improved reliability.”
