Empowering Australian government innovation: a secure path to open source excellence

The Australian Federal Government is not alone in dealing with challenges like natural disasters, global pandemics and economic uncertainty. Like many governments, they are looking for new and innovative ways to tackle these challenges.

FST Government 2023 is an exciting conference that brings over 200 government leaders together to explore how the latest advances in digital technology can help support better policy outcomes and citizen service delivery. Canonical participated in the 2022 edition and is thrilled to join the conference again this year.

We will unveil a comprehensive solution for advanced data science labs, driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and automation strategies. The aim is to propel government into the realm of augmented and predictive governance. We’re delighted to encourage our partners and customers to engage with our representatives at the booth to discuss AI’s role in shaping their future plans.

Trends you can expect to hear about at the event:

1. Open Source’s Expanding Role: Governments increasingly rely on open source to support hybrid cloud technology, as well as data science, across a shared and often open information fabric, to deliver citizen services and policy outcomes at the required rate.
2. Empowering Innovation: The required ‘Innovation Rate’ is only possible when developers and data scientists are given freedom and flexibility to use open source technologies and datasets.
3. Navigating Challenges: Both of these factors present serious challenges and risks to the required application infrastructure, which is not always architected to effectively address modern compliance, governance, and cybersecurity risks.

How does Canonical help?

Ensuring Open Source Security:

In this dynamic technology and risk landscape, Canonical provides both broad and deep assurance. Renowned for its commitment to security, Ubuntu sits at the centre. The Ubuntu Security team’s track record mitigating security risks for tens of thousands of software packages, illustrates Ubuntu’s position as one of the most secure Operating Systems. Canonical’s track record for addressing Common Vulnerabilities & Exposures (CVEs) within 24 hours sets an industry standard, fortifying Ubuntu’s security framework.

The appeal of open source software in cloud computing security is undeniable, but presents complexity. Ubuntu Pro, Canonical’s enterprise solution, extends security coverage across the entire Ubuntu software repositories for up to a decade – in any cloud. A holistic approach to security underscores Ubuntu Pro’s significance for sectors like government. With Ubuntu Pro, agencies can extend cloud security coverage to the entire collection of software packages that ships with Ubuntu for the long term, and automate compliance to multiple standards and frameworks.

Optimising Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure Costs:

The flexibility of hybrid clouds allows organisations to optimise infrastructure costs by deploying workloads where they prove most performant and cost-effective. Canonical’s Kubernetes distributions offer an ideal foundation for building distributed, highly available microservices. Charmed Kubernetes and MicroK8s streamline cluster creation and offer unparalleled price-performance and lifecycle automation. Additionally, Canonical OpenStack enables  organisations to control CapEx and OpEx expenses within hybrid cloud environments, offering a robust private cloud platfrom.

Streamlining Data Pipelines and AI/ML:

As organisations increasingly allocate resources to AI/ML, efficient compute resource allocation and model lifecycle management become paramount. Canonical’s Charmed Kubeflow provides an end-to-end MLOps solution, seamlessly translating data workflow into Kubernetes workloads. The platform facilitates multi-cloud deployment, collaboration, and integration with AI/ML toolsets such as Tensorflow and PyTorch (among many others). Governments can enable their data scientists with the latest ML tools in a single platform.

Managed Apps for Performance and Reliability:

Canonical’s reputation as an app management leader is built on 99.9% uptime, active management, and rapid issue resolution. The service includes updates, security patches, and insightful metrics, allowing enterprises to focus on their core operations while Canonical oversees the application maintenance.

In conclusion

The imperative for the government to wield data effectively to enact innovation grows ever more pressing. Amidst technological risks and external threats, governments’ duty to perform effectively remains absolute. Open source technology stands as a pivotal tool to foster innovation, provided it is executed securely and efficiently. Canonical provides a trusted partner in this endeavour, offering solutions that fortify government operations in an increasingly complex landscape.

Register for the event: https://fst.net.au/event/9th-annual-fst-government-australia-2023/

Contact us: https://ubuntu.com/gov#get-in-touch