Sunderland City Council and IBM has announced that they will provide a city-wide Cloud computing platform that will not only meet the Council's own needs, but that will stimulate economic growth for the benefit of the whole city by reducing the technological investment barriers experienced by start-ups and local companies wishing to expand operations..

Sunderland's Cloud is expected to reduce its own operational costs by £1.4m annually over the next five years, in the delivery of IT services through a reduction in hardware, software, maintenance and improved IT management. The Cloud will also provide a low cost, accessible and secure platform for use across Sunderland.

IBM will provide the planning, design, provision and implementation of the Cloud for server and end-user computing. The Cloud has been designed to incorporate existing hardware and software in order to be as cost-effective as possible, whilst at the same time providing the council's requirements in terms of: facilitating an agile workforce, improving the experience of 4,000 end-users, simplifying systems management and reducing carbon emissions.

Councillor Paul Watson, Leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “'The Cloud is a cornerstone of our Economic Masterplan. The new Cloud infrastructure will lay the foundations of an even Smarter Sunderland, one that ensures the city is internationally recognised as a model for its operations and a prime location for inward investment.”