Memset Switches On PSN-Protected Data Centre

British cloud hosting provider Memset has opened its Surrey-based data centre today, touting its PSN-Protected government-approved credentials.

Memset’s managing director Kate Craig-Wood said that the firm had to go through a long process to secure a Public Services Network (PSN) connection, claiming that the hoop-jumping was resource intensive for an organisation of Memset’s size. Memset started its attempt for a PSN connection in November 2012.

But Memset now has a live connetion, with Craig-Wood saying that it is an “additional USP for an SME like Memset”, with the company now able to supply Lot 2 hosting services to the public sector via G-Cloud.

GDS

The building is intended for use with high security government data. Memset said that whilst a second PSN-connected facility with related security measures is planned, in the interim it is working with customers using multiple suppliers to achieve geographically-diverse high-availability, using PSN as the interlink which was a strong use case as originally envisaged in G-Cloud.

However, the accolade may be in vain for Memset, as the Government looks to use the GDS (Government Digital Service) to have just one public services network, rather than having multiple facilities which are PSN-Protected.

“This is a real shame as the effort that has gone into the PSN-Protected encrypted network has been huge and there are several suppliers like us who have bitten the bullet and the huge cost of hundreds and thousands of pounds to get connectivity,” said Craig-Wood. “But we do envisage the GDS will be collapsing it in due course.”

She continued: “However as we have seen with the changes to the old IL security markings and the self-certified accreditation programme, many departments are resisting those changes and still looking for the former impact levels and old style technical architecture for their security needs, so there will be a period of transition and an appetite for these high security PSN services.”

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