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Bangladesh Accelerates Smart Bangladesh Initiative through Sovereign Cloud

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Published: 20:13, 6 May 2024

Update: 20:14, 6 May 2024

Bangladesh Accelerates Smart Bangladesh Initiative through Sovereign Cloud

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Bangladesh Data Center Company Limited (BDCCL), Bangladesh's government-owned data storage and disaster recovery services provider, has implemented Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Dedicated Region in its own data centres to help accelerate Bangladesh's cloud-led digital transformation initiative called Smart Bangladesh Vision 2041. Bangladesh's sovereign government cloud enables it to control its cloud infrastructure and data locally to help its government entities meet digital sovereignty requirements.

Bangladesh's sovereign government cloud runs its mission-critical systems, including national security, e-governance, and e-filing, as well as health and social services, from within the borders of Bangladesh. With OCI Dedicated Region, over 30 Bangladesh government agencies can now build and innovate with the full range of Oracle's cloud services while meeting governance, regulatory compliance, and data privacy requirements. In addition, OCI Dedicated Region allows BDCCL significant agility and cost benefits by enabling users to bring new applications and services online quickly and efficiently with the same services, continuous updates, low prices, and comprehensive SLAs as OCI public cloud regions.

"Building on the launch pad created by Digital Bangladesh, Smart Bangladesh Vision 2041, recognizes that data is the new currency and is key to scaling sustainable digital solutions that all citizens can benefit from," said Honorable Zunaid Ahmed Palak MP, state minister, Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Government of Bangladesh. "The creation of the Bangladesh sovereign cloud with OCI Dedicated Region is the backbone of this vision and will enable us to strengthen our digital infrastructure for the modern economy and boost our cybersecurity readiness. We look forward to creating a truly smart government with Oracle."

Designed for single-tenant usage, the OCI Dedicated Region is a self-contained region that enables all of Bangladesh's government data, including API operations and metadata, to remain isolated within its borders. OCI Dedicated Region includes full management capabilities and access to new features and functions as they become available in Oracle's public cloud. As a hyperscaler, Oracle is capable of delivering artificial intelligence (AI) and a full suite of 100+ cloud services across dedicated, public, and hybrid cloud environments, anywhere in the world. The Bangladesh government plans to take advantage of Oracle's sovereign AI capabilities in its data centre for increased control of its data and AI infrastructure.

"Bangladesh's sovereign government cloud will make it easier for government entities in the country to securely move to the next stage of their cloud-enabled transformation journey," said Md. Shamsul Arefin, chairman, of Bangladesh Data Center Company Limited and secretary, of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Government of Bangladesh. "They will now be able to cost-effectively and securely harness the power of the cloud to deploy modern services for citizens."

"A cloud-first approach has become pivotal for governments to enhance efficiency, scalability, and cost-effectiveness in a secure manner," said Garrett Ilg, executive vice president and general manager, of Japan & Asia Pacific, Oracle. "With cloud computing, governments can unlock innovation and enable civil servants to better serve the communities. OCI Dedicated Region offers the government of Bangladesh a complete cloud solution within their own data centre. This creates an agile, efficient, secure, and cost-effective platform that allows the government to modernize applications, accelerate innovation, and address data sovereignty needs."

"The establishment of Bangladesh's government cloud powered by Oracle is a substantive public-private partnership move in boosting the agility of government bodies to respond to the needs of citizens and businesses. I hope a transformation of government services using this cloud will accelerate Bangladesh's journey towards prosperity and help attain the dream of smart and developed Bangladesh by 2041," said Salman F Rahman MP, Honorable Private Industry and Investment Adviser to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

"We are excited that BDCCL is working with Oracle to support the realization of the country's Smart Bangladesh Vision 2041," said Peter Haas, U.S. ambassador to the People's Republic of Bangladesh. "I know that U.S. companies, with their gold-standard technology and when allowed to compete fairly, will continue to play a huge role in this digital transformation. The U.S. government will continue to advocate for smart regulations and laws for Smart Bangladesh."

Bangladesh's Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division implemented OCI Dedicated Region.

OCI Dedicated Region is certified to run Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications Suite, including Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Oracle Fusion Cloud Human Capital Management (HCM), Oracle Fusion Cloud Supply Chain Management (SCM), and Oracle Advertising and Customer Experience (CX), making it a completely integrated cloud experience.

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