The government cloud in Slovakia is moving forward mainly thanks to the “platform as a service” (PaaS) layer that was deployed by the Ministry of the Interior. It is a mature approach that accelerates the design, testing, and operation of applications. Developers can thus focus on the logic of solutions instead of routine tasks.
Why the government cloud needs PaaS
PaaS is a software layer deployed on top of the cloud infrastructure that creates a useful “abstraction” for developing and deploying applications. It relieves developers of concerns about disks, memory, server performance, or network connections between applications. In practice, this means faster software creation and fewer errors caused by manual operations.
At the heart of the platform is a container-based approach and orchestration, which are now standard in enterprise and public-sector IT. The platform automatically prepares environments, packages the source code into a container, and takes care of its lifecycle. The developer thus focuses on functionality and logic while the platform handles the routine.
How the platform speeds up development and deployment
In addition to the code, the platform bundles the necessary settings as well, such as environment variables or links to databases, so the application can be easily launched and scaled. It can accept projects directly from source code as well as ready-made images in a container standard. Deployment is a matter of a single command, and the application can run on the intranet, extranet, or the internet as needed.
The solution also includes provided services that applications can use directly: databases, search, encryption, and more. These resources are available in the private cloud and, if needed, also in a hybrid model. The developer “consumes” them as ready-made building blocks without having to build their own infrastructure.
Governance, security, and benefits for the state
The project also includes management of licensed applications and DevOps rules that make it possible to safely allow multiple integrators and developers into the environment. The established processes support continuous deployment (CI/CD), access control, and consistent operational parameters. The key outcome is a significant acceleration of application delivery, saving time and resources, and higher service quality. The team announced that a more detailed look at the platform services will be presented at a workshop planned for the beginning of the year.
