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Republic of the Philippines

Cloud Center of Excellence

In 2016 the Republic of the Philippines adopted a “Cloud First” policy, mandating that government agencies prioritize cloud-based infrastructure and services in their ICT modernization efforts.

Case Study: DICT Cloud Center of Excellence

Republic of the Philippines (2020–2023)

Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT)

Role: Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE) Architect & Change Management Specialist
Location & Timeline: Philippines — 2020 to 2023
Client: Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), funded by USTDA

Following the issuance of Department Circular 2017-002, the Republic of the Philippines adopted a “Cloud First” policy, mandating that government agencies prioritize cloud-based infrastructure and services in their ICT modernization efforts. However, systemic barriers including rigid procurement processes, data sovereignty concerns, and a fragmented cloud strategy ecosystem delayed widespread adoption.

To address this, the DICT, with funding from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), launched the Cloud Computing Technical Assistance Project. A centerpiece of this initiative was the creation of a Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE) to serve as the strategic, operational, and advocacy nucleus of public sector cloud transformation.

The government’s transition to cloud computing faced multiple deeply embedded challenges:

  • Absence of a centralized governance structure to guide and sustain cloud initiatives.

  • Outdated procurement and audit frameworks incompatible with pay-as-you-go cloud services.

  • Fragmented cloud adoption among agencies, with little knowledge sharing or standardization.

  • Lack of in-country skills and models to engage major cloud providers under a data-residency-sensitive model.

Architecting the CCoE and Leading Change

As the Architect of the Cloud Center of Excellence, I was responsible for its full lifecycle design and implementation planning, including:

  • Strategic Design: Defining the vision, business model, funding strategy (PPP), and multiyear roadmap for the national CCoE.

  • Organizational Blueprinting: Establishing the staffing structure, capability requirements, and key operating models.

  • Change Management: Leading cross-agency engagement and facilitating intergovernmental alignment around adoption, compliance, and vendor-neutral governance.

  • Policy & Standards Support: Providing expert input into procurement, SLA modeling, CSP accreditation, and data residency frameworks aligned with international best practices.

The Cloud Center of Excellence was developed under the Cloud Computing Technical Assistance Project, with the following phases and core outputs:

Phase Focus Key Deliverables
Task 1 Kickoff & Situation Review Work Plan, Stakeholder Map, RFI Analysis
Task 2 Cloud Maturity & Readiness Assessment Departmental Migration Plans, DICT Resource Analysis
Task 3 Regulatory & Procurement Review Whitepaper on Cloud Compliance, CSP Accreditation Models
Task 4 Knowledge Transfer Two-day Best Practices Workshop, Government Presentations
Task 5 CCoE Strategy Design CCoE Business Plan, 3–5 Year PPP Funding Model, U.S. Cloud Vendor Engagement
Task 6 U.S. Supply Engagement Source lists and vendor mapping
Task 7 Development Impact Assessment Socioeconomic impact analysis
Task 8 Final Report Synthesis of all findings and final strategic roadmap

  • Institutional Blueprint: Designed the Philippines’ first national-level Cloud Center of Excellence.

  • Public–Private Partnership Model: Created a sustainable, multiyear PPP-based business plan aligned with U.S. and global vendor ecosystems.

  • Change Enablement: Facilitated cross-stakeholder alignment across 10 pilot agencies, DICT technical units, and U.S. CSPs.

  • Capacity Building: Delivered government-wide training and cloud migration workshops during peak pandemic constraints (remote/hybrid).

  • Strategic Influence: Informed multiple DICT policies and reinforced the operationalization of the 2020 amendment to the Cloud First Policy.

  1. USTDA Official Release (2019):
    “USTDA Supports the Philippines’ Transition to the Cloud”
    ↳ ustda.gov link

  2. BusinessMirror (2023):
    “DICT pushes for cloud computing toward better governance”
    ↳ businessmirror.com.ph

  3. W.Media (2023):
    “Philippine Government Pushes Cloud First Policy”
    ↳ w.media

  4. BCDA Partnership on National Data Center (Sep 2023):
    “DICT partners with BCDA, JHMC for North Luzon Data Center”
    ↳ bcda.gov.ph

  5. Digital Cities 2025 & Center of Excellence Framing:
    ↳ League of Cities of the Philippines

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