A European Central Bank Has Signed a Mega Deal with a Cloud Service Provider. The Problem for Google, Microsoft and Amazon? It’s Not with...
Europe’s Dutch central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank, announced it will migrate its essential cloud infrastructure from U.S. giants Google, Amazon and Microsoft to Schwartz Digits, the cloud arm of low‑cost retailer Lidl. The transition also involves adopting StackIT, a subsidiary of Schwartz Digits, as part of a broader Dutch government effort to curb reliance on non‑European technology. Officials highlighted the U.S. Cloud Act and divergent digital‑security philosophies as primary motivators. The move underscores a growing European trend toward home‑grown cloud services for financial and public‑sector data.
HMRC Brings in Quantexa for £175m Data Cleanse Ahead of AWS Move
HMRC is investing £175 million (approximately $220 million) to clean and modernise its data ahead of a massive migration to Amazon Web Services by 2028. The tax authority has signed a ten‑year partnership with British data‑analytics firm Quantexa to overhaul its core...
SKT, South Korea Ministry Target Defence AI
SK Telecom (SKT) has signed a partnership with South Korea’s Ministry of National Defence to create sovereign AI models for military administration and operations. The collaboration will leverage SKT’s A.X family of large language models, GPU‑as‑a‑Service infrastructure, and defence data...
Digital ID Will Help Address ‘Unnecessary Data Security Risks’ and ‘Persistent Exclusion’, Minister Says
The UK government is set to launch a state‑issued digital identity, backed by the Digital Access to Services Bill, after minister James Frith highlighted its role in reducing data‑security risks and tackling persistent exclusion. The ID will serve as a...
US Army Deploys Drones in Hawaii’s Forests to Cut Wildfire Risk
The U.S. Forest Service deployed unmanned aerial ignition drones for the first time at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, burning 1,707 acres of invasive Guinea grass in the annual prescribed‑fire operation. The burn, conducted on May 12, met federal, state and Army...
How a Canadian Department ‘Insourced’ an IT Fix to Itself — and Saved $50 Million
Alberta’s Ministry of Infrastructure halted a decade‑long, failing overhaul of two legacy IT platforms and chose to build a replacement internally. The new in‑house system consolidates data on roughly 4,000 government‑owned properties—valued at about $8.8 billion USD—and tracks over 500 active...
HMRC to Use AI From British Tech Firm to Spot Fraud and Tax Return Errors
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has struck a 10‑year, £175 million (≈ $210 million) agreement with British AI specialist Quantexa to embed machine‑learning tools across its tax‑administration systems. The platform will merge HMRC’s internal data with external datasets to surface fraudulent schemes, correct...
Inside FDP – Part 3: The Data Architecture that Makes It Work
The third installment of Tom Bartlett’s Inside FDP series explains how Palantir Foundry’s ontology collapses traditional data silos in the NHS Federated Data Platform. By embedding data, its description, applications, and actions in a single operational layer, the platform lets...
Official Optimistic After NTIA Talks on FirstNet Reauthorization
The U.S. Senate is poised to debate a reauthorization bill for the FirstNet Authority, the agency that runs the nation’s public‑safety broadband network. Jeff Johnson of the Western Fire Chiefs Association reported a hopeful meeting with NTIA officials, suggesting both...
The Reality of Implementing Zero Trust for Defense Operational Technology
The Department of Defense issued new guidance in late 2025 that tailors Zero Trust principles specifically for operational technology (OT). The policy separates IT‑focused standards from OT requirements, acknowledging that legacy controllers and diverse process equipment cannot support traditional software‑based...
The Next Phase of Zero Trust: From Recognizing Known Threats to Stopping Threats
The Federal Zero Trust Strategy (M‑22‑09) gave agencies measurable goals such as phishing‑resistant MFA and endpoint detection, reshaping U.S. government cybersecurity. However, the focus on identifying known threats leaves a gap as adversaries employ novel, AI‑driven attacks that evade static...
OMB Memo Forces Agencies to Rethink Procurement Oversight
The Office of Management and Budget issued memo M‑26‑10 on March 31, mandating that federal CIOs approve every IT contract, submit monthly contract logs, and share pricing data across agencies. The directive seeks to curb duplicated software spending, achieve economies of...
DHS Plans Experiment Running ‘Reconnaissance’ Drones Along the US-Canada Border
The Department of Homeland Security, together with Canada’s Defense Research and Development Canada, announced ACE‑CASPER, a multiday experiment slated for November that will send autonomous drones and ground vehicles along the U.S.–Canada border to stream live video and sensor data...
Driverless Cars Get Green Light From NJ Senate Panel
The New Jersey Senate transportation committee unanimously approved a bill to launch a three‑year pilot program for driverless cars, creating a new task force to set safety, cyber‑security and liability protocols. The legislation builds on a 2019 law but narrows...
Hong Kong, UAE Push Digital Business Identity Infrastructure
Hong Kong has appointed eSign.AI to power its Digital Corporate Identity Platform (CorpID), integrating electronic signatures and certificate management with the iAM Smart citizen ID system. CorpID will roll out in phases beginning late 2026, with broader e‑government services for...
Researchers Build Cybersecurity Framework for EUDI Wallets
The European Union’s deadline for member states to launch European Digital Identity (EUDI) wallets is set for the end of 2026, prompting a surge of new digital‑identity apps. A three‑year research project led by the University of Szeged, with partners...
Air Force Taps Salesforce’s Army Contract for Personnel Modernization Work
Salesforce has secured a $72 million enterprise license agreement with the U.S. Air Force to modernize personnel and logistics management using artificial intelligence. The deal taps into the broader $5.6 billion contract the vendor signed with the Army earlier this year, creating...
Australian Budget Looks to Advance Interoperability and Promote Sharing of Health Data
The 2026 Australian Federal Budget earmarks AUD 598.3 million (≈ USD 395 million) over two years to upgrade the My Health Record platform, alongside AUD 79.2 million (≈ USD 52 million) for state‑level digital health reforms. A further AUD 2 billion (≈ USD 1.32 billion) will fund the Thriving Kids programme and a new National...
Axios Interview: Reimagining Government + Business + AI
Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s chief global affairs officer, warned that unpopular AI could trigger political backlash and suggested creating a new public‑private hybrid to manage AI regulation and contracts. He argued that AI firms must share the wealth they generate, likening...
South Africa’s Eskom Resorts to Grid-Scale Gravity Energy Storage
South Africa’s state‑owned utility Eskom has signed a strategic development agreement with Energy Vault to pilot a 25 MW/100 MWh grid‑scale gravity energy storage system at the aging Hendrina coal plant. The deal also creates a framework for up to 4 GWh of...
DfE Creates New ‘Digital and Infrastructure’ DG Role
The UK Department for Education (DfE) has announced a senior Director General role for Digital and Infrastructure, offering a £200,000 salary (about $250,000). The position will unite digital, AI, data, analytics, and estates functions to drive a "step‑change" in how...
PSA Rolls Out Digital System for Civil Registry Corrections
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) launched the Administrative Petition for Correction Automated System (APCAS), a digital platform that automates civil‑registry correction petitions. APCAS is expected to cut processing time by at least 80% for up to 180,000 annual requests. A...
Vietnam to Develop Domestic Cloud so It Can Ditch Risky Overseas Operators for Government Workloads
Vietnam’s government announced Decision 808, a roadmap to build a national cloud platform by 2030, aiming to replace foreign services for all state agencies. The plan is part of a broader list of 20 strategic technologies, including AI models, quantum‑resistant...
We Need to Get Better at Asking Questions About Government AI Systems
Lord Clement‑Jones recently queried the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology about the Claude LLM powering the new gov.uk chat service, but received only vague answers. As LLM‑based tools proliferate across UK public services—from fraud risk reviews to planning applications—questions...
DfE Plans Automated Feasibility-Testing Tool for £15.4bn School-Building Agenda
The UK Department for Education (DfE) is set to spend roughly $2.4 million on an 18‑month contract to build a Digital Configurator, a rule‑based platform that will automate early‑stage feasibility design for its $19.5 billion school‑building programme. The tool will generate block...
Bermuda to Transition ‘Key’ Financial Services to Stellar Blockchain
Bermuda announced it will shift core payment and financial‑services functions onto the Stellar blockchain, aiming to become a fully on‑chain national economy. Premier David Burt said the move follows risk assessments that cleared digital‑asset acceptance and investment. Stellar’s low‑cost, fast...
ID4Africa 2026 Shifts Focus to Digital Identity Ecosystems and Sustainability
ID4Africa’s 2026 AGM convened over a thousand senior African officials in Abidjan despite travel disruptions caused by the Middle‑East war. The conference’s theme, “Digital Identity: from DPI to Digital Public Ecosystems,” signaled a strategic shift from enrollment numbers toward sustainable,...
Building Digital ID Systems that Last: African Countries Share Experiences as ID4Africa 2026 Opens
The ID4Africa 2026 Annual General Meeting opened in Abidjan, bringing together ID authorities from more than a dozen African nations to discuss how to build digital identity systems that endure. Leaders highlighted practical steps such as Nigeria’s migration to an...
How Federal Agencies Are Modernizing Digital Service Delivery With Identity and Automation
Federal agencies are overhauling digital service delivery by embedding identity management and workflow automation at scale. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which serves more than 160 million Americans, highlighted the stakes of secure identity for vulnerable populations at the...
AI-Powered Tools to Manage Water in Africa
The International Water Management Institute and the Limpopo Watercourse Commission have launched the Limpopo Digital Twin and WaterCopilot AI tools across Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The Digital Twin creates an interactive, near‑real‑time replica of the basin, merging hydrology,...
New Income Tax Law Aims to Build Transparent, Tech-Driven Ecosystem for Taxpayers: Official
India’s Income Tax Act 2025, which took effect on April 1 2026, replaces the six‑decade‑old 1961 law with a streamlined, technology‑focused framework. The reform aims to cut litigation, simplify compliance and create a transparent ecosystem through digital tools such as the AI‑driven...
New Mexico DOJ Touts Statewide Progress with New ‘Crime Gun’ Data Tracking Initiative
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced that the state’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center is already delivering results. Since its launch, law‑enforcement agencies have uploaded more than 700 spent shell casings and linked 31 recovered firearms to 74 separate shootings....
Jordan Gives Sanad Mobile ID Full Legal Status Under Civil Status Law
Jordan has amended its 2026 Civil Status Law to grant the Sanad mobile identity app full legal equivalence with the physical national ID card. The change obliges public bodies and private firms, including banks and telecoms, to accept the digital...
India Gets Its UPI for EV Charging as Kumaraswamy Unveils Unified Bharat E-Charge
Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy launched Unified Bharat e‑Charge (UBC), dubbed the “UPI for EV charging,” a government‑backed, NPCI‑supported platform that lets Indian EV owners locate, book and pay for charging across public networks through a single app. The system, built...
NATO to Cultivate Vetted Counter-Drone Vendor Pool for Nations to Pick and Choose
NATO is launching a pilot marketplace that will offer 18 vetted counter‑drone (C‑UAS) systems for member nations to procure quickly. The alliance will invite vendors to pitch by mid‑May, select the solutions within two months, and aim to have contracts...
Five Eyes Cybersecurity Agencies’ Careful Agentic AI Adoption Guidance, Operationalized By AEGIS
At the Oracle Applications Analyst Summit, Oracle signaled that agentic AI will be confined to its Fusion platform, while the Five Eyes cybersecurity agencies—CISA, NSA, ASD, and counterparts in Canada, New Zealand and the UK—issued the first coordinated guidance on careful...
NHS to Spend £900 Million on Healthcare AI
Britain’s National Health Service announced a £900 million (≈$1.15 billion) investment in artificial intelligence for healthcare. The funding will be allocated over an eight‑year period beginning in 2027. The program aims to accelerate AI‑driven diagnostics, patient triage, and operational efficiencies across NHS...
US: FAA Completes Phase One of NOTAM System Overhaul
The Federal Aviation Administration announced that Phase 1 of its multi‑year overhaul of the United States’ Notices to Airmen (NOTAM) system is complete. By moving the legacy platform to a cloud‑based architecture, the FAA aims to prevent the kind of nationwide...
Infrastructure Technology Podcast: The Role GIS Plays In Public Transit Planning
Episode nine of Season 3 of the Infrastructure Technology Podcast spotlights how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and emerging AI tools are reshaping public transit planning. Guest Jackie Strohmeyer, a recent University of New Orleans graduate, explains how GIS‑based accessibility analysis drives equity‑focused...
Global Supply Dashboard to Go Live for Public Access on May 15
Malaysia’s Economy Ministry and the Department of Statistics will launch the Global Supply Crisis Monitoring Dashboard for public use on May 15, 2026. The portal features ten sub‑menus covering energy, commodities, cost of living, economic performance, FX rates and trade...
'Fatbergs' Are a Modern Menace. Can We Stop Them?
Fatbergs—massive clogs of grease, wipes and other waste—are causing costly sewer blockages worldwide. In London, a 130‑tonne fatberg was uncovered, and similar giants have appeared in Detroit, Sydney and other cities. Utilities are turning to technology: Southern Water has deployed...
India Seeks Database of Outbound Students Amid Global Conflicts
India is weighing the creation of a centralized database for its millions of students studying abroad as geopolitical tensions rise. The existing MADAD portal, launched a decade ago, has attracted only about 41,000 registrations—well under 10% of the overseas student...
MSRTC Plans E-Bus Fleet Expansion, but Charging Infrastructure Lags
Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) currently runs 738 electric buses and plans to boost that number to 2,300 by the end of FY 2026‑27, with an additional 2,460 e‑buses slated for FY 2027‑28. The fleet expansion outpaces the existing...
FCC’s DJI, Autel Ban Ignores How Drones Actually Work
The FCC is moving toward broad restrictions on foreign‑made drones, targeting DJI and Autel, while thousands continue to operate daily. The Drone Service Provider’s Alliance, representing over 33,000 U.S. pilots, argues the agency’s approach is inconsistent, urging a risk‑based framework...
Europe and US Negotiate Deal to Share Citizens’ Biometric Data, UK Also Approached
The European Union and the United States are negotiating an Enhanced Security Border Partnership that would grant U.S. Homeland Security access to EU citizens' biometric data, including fingerprints, photos and genetic information. A leaked draft shows the agreement would enable...
Reliable Robotics Advances Safety-Critical UAS Datalinks
Reliable Robotics is field‑testing its C2 Link System, a safety‑critical datalink that lets uncrewed aircraft operate under Instrument Flight Rules within the National Airspace System. The hardware leverages Iridium and Viasat satellite terminals and uAvionix air‑to‑ground links, eliminating the need...
New Online Rules Target Scam Adverts
Thailand has introduced new electronic‑transaction regulations requiring social media platforms to verify advertiser identities before ads are published. Published on May 5 and effective 180 days later, the rules mandate facial‑matching verification with government‑issued documents and a 90‑day data‑retention period, while...
What Kind of Infrastructure Will K-12 Schools Need for AI?
K‑12 districts are confronting a new wave of AI‑related infrastructure pressures, even though AI has not yet caused outright network failures. A 2025 CoSN report shows only 16% of schools feel fully prepared, while 61% struggle with fragmented data. Leaders...
World Bank Unveils DPI Procurement Guide for More Integrated Digital Services
The World Bank Group released a guidance note to help governments procure digital ID systems that are scalable, interoperable and future‑ready. The guide urges a shift from technology‑prescriptive contracts to outcome‑based, technology‑neutral procurement, stressing clear acceptance criteria, data ownership and...