Establishing Cloud Governance in a UK Defence Organisation

The Situation

A UK defence organisation was consuming public and private cloud services across multiple classifications, but without any formal governance or compliance oversight. One internal team had already begun using cloud services informally, creating a risk of Shadow IT. Without intervention, unapproved environments would continue to spread, increasing data exposure and bypassing assurance requirements.

The Challenge

The organisation needed a way to quickly bring existing cloud use under control, while laying the foundations for secure, compliant, and scalable cloud adoption. The complexity lay in balancing short-term needs with long-term strategy, while designing an approach that could scale across diverse use cases and classified environments. To gain stakeholder buy-in, the project needed to be delivered under an accelerated timeline. We were required to show both efficiency and effectiveness.

Our Approach

We engaged with users, senior stakeholders, and the CIO to build alignment around a new cloud strategy. This included:

• Designing a high-level service architecture

• Identifying key risks and developing short- and long-term responses

• Leading procurement for a Cloud Centre of Excellence (CCoE), delivering an MVP focused on governance, compliance, and service assurance

The MVP was targeted at the platform most actively used by researchers. It provided immediate governance controls and a compliance baseline, while acting as a testbed for a broader strategy to centralise all cloud hosting.

The Outcome

• Governance Established

  The MVP introduced boundary controls, SafetyNets, and compliance oversight across the active research platform

• Risk Reduced

  Shadow IT and unapproved environments were decommissioned via recharging mechanisms, reducing exposure and cost

• Strategic Alignment

  The project aligned with JSP 453 Secure by Design principles and broader government strategy

• Momentum Secured

  Buy-in from the user community and SLT led to endorsement of a fully funded, five-year cloud transformation programme

Ongoing Role

With a strategic supplier now appointed, we continue to oversee programme delivery—ensuring it aligns with the agreed architecture and delivers continual service improvement across the organisation.

What This Means for You

If you’re grappling with fragmented cloud adoption, emerging Shadow IT, or the need to align cloud use with MOD governance, this approach shows that we can deliver secure, compliant, and user-focused cloud services can be delivered at pace without compromising long-term strategy.