AWS Public Sector Blog

Tag: EMEA

Enabling digital transformation for the UK government with Liam Maxwell and Ben Aung

How updating Cold War era data classification unblocked government digital transformation

Looking at information security as an enabler for change, not a blocker, was the mind shift that contributed to digital transformation in UK government. The UK modernization of data classification concepts and processes enabled more responsive public services, as well as massive savings (£1.7bn in 2014 alone). From 2012 through 2015, the authors of this blog worked together in the Cabinet Office in the UK to reform a decades-old information security policy. This effort helped unlock widespread cloud adoption in the UK public sector and the advantages that come with it.

hospital staff standing close together with arms crossed torsos only

Digitally revolutionizing workforce management in healthcare

COVID-19 highlighted the existing shortage in personnel within healthcare and is now challenging many hospitals with high staff turnover and sick leave. Planerio created workforce management solutions that help healthcare organizations modernize their workforce administration. Their shift planning software uses artificial intelligence (AI) and takes into account a range of planning variables such as employee qualifications and availabilities, employee preferences and requests, requirements of different shifts and workplaces, legal regulations and tariffs, and more.

Hope orbiter Mars, photo courtesy of MBRSC, United Arab Emirates

UAE Mars mission uses AWS to advance scientific discoveries

On February 9, a new object successfully began to orbit Mars: an uncrewed spacecraft called the Hope Probe. The mission has already returned the first image of Mars, taken by Hope’s Emirates eXploration Imager from an altitude of 24,700 km. Led by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), the Hope Probe is the first interplanetary mission for the United Arab Emirates, the fifth country in history to reach the red planet. It will also be the first spacecraft to capture a complete picture of the Martian atmosphere and its layers during different times of the day and different seasons for one complete Martian year. Once data transmitted by the Hope Probe reaches the scientific teams on Earth, MBRSC will use AWS advanced technologies to process and analyze the vast amounts of data and imagery to help researchers better understand the Martian atmosphere and its layers.

AWS City on a Cloud competition 2020 city skyline

Announcing the winners of the AWS City on a Cloud competition

We are excited to announce the winners of the 2020 AWS City on a Cloud competition. Since 2014, we’ve rewarded those who have positively impacted our communities in the City on a Cloud competition. This year, the competition expanded to include finalists from over 14 countries across the globe in search of how organizations are adapting to these unprecedented times and helping cities become more resilient. From building telehealth solutions during the COVID-19 pandemic, to improving farmers’ quality of life, to increasing computer science education, the winning cities and organizations went above and beyond to innovate for and with their constituents using the cloud. Check out the winners.

Safer Internet Day

Empowering adults and children to make the internet a safer place

Every year, Safer Internet Day brings together schools, teachers, parents, caregivers, and organisations around the world to promote a safer internet and the responsible use of online technology and mobile phones. This year on Tuesday, February 9, Safer Internet Day marks their 18th year, this year focusing on the topic, “An internet we trust: Exploring reliability in the online world.”

clouds with connected dots overlaid

European research and education community can now access discounted cloud services faster through new agreement

GÉANT, one of the world’s largest research and education networks, is making it simpler to adopt cloud services through a new procurement framework, Open Cloud for Research Environments (OCRE Cloud Framework). GÉANT selected AWS Partners Jisc and Rackspace Technology to join the OCRE Cloud Framework.

Athens Greece at sunset

Ushering in a new era of innovation in Greece – AWS office launches in Athens

AWS is announcing the opening of an office in Athens, furthering our commitment to investing in Greece and responding to the expanding customer base in the country. The office will support organisations of all sizes—startups, enterprises, and public sector agencies—as they make the transition to the cloud. The opening of the office is our latest investment in Greece.

doctor on tablet in hall of hospital

Meeting evolving patient and clinical needs during COVID-19 and beyond

The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging health systems around the world. They are responding to an increase in ill patients, managing a lack of resources such as PPE, and focusing on keeping their workforce well. With worldwide deployment of vaccines still underway, health systems will need to continue transforming to adapt to managing COVID-19 alongside other health conditions. Using cloud technology has already provided benefits to health systems during the pandemic—many of which will persist into the recovery phase. AWS is helping healthcare systems accelerate the pace of research, support data-driven decision making, and facilitate the delivery of services to citizens and patients.

AWS EdStart_Global Founders_Blog Graphic_Genially_Studos

Increasing student engagement through new visual presentation development and test taking tools

AWS EdStart Members—Chema Roldan, co- founder and CTO of Genial.ly in Spain and Leonardo Prates, co-founder and CEO of Studos in Brazil—are enhancing the classroom experience for students and teachers. Genial.ly is focused on enabling students and teachers to create and deliver digital presentations. Studos is focused on helping students enhance their test performance through automatic feedback using AI. Read on to learn how these founders are developing the next generation of education solutions in the AWS Cloud.

tiny globe on a desk with graduation cap

8 recommendations for higher education from CIOs on remote learning

COVID-19 accelerated a number of rapid changes in higher education. Technology helped with continuity of education, and chief information officers (CIOs) had to overcome a number of challenges to achieve this. Amazon Web Services (AWS) and ucisa, the member-led professional body for digital practitioners in education in the United Kingdom (UK), brought together CIOs from across the UK and Europe to share and discuss their recent experiences and share lessons learned. Learn their recommendations.