Manila, Philippines – Today, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency awarded a grant to the Philippines Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to support the adoption of cloud computing that will reduce costs and increase the productivity of government ICT infrastructure in the Philippines.

“U.S. companies lead the world in cloud computing technology and services, and this a great opportunity to demonstrate that continued standard of excellence,” said USTDA Acting Director Thomas R. Hardy. “This partnership with DICT will create new prospects for U.S. companies and help the Philippines achieve the goal of providing better public services.”

The grant will provide DICT with a comprehensive assessment of the overall cloud computing environment in the Philippines and define the strategy and organizational structure for a Cloud Center of Excellence—a standing body funded through a public-private partnership that will introduce international best practices and training to facilitate cloud adoption. The project will demonstrate the benefits of moving government agencies to cloud infrastructure, including increased efficiency and better quality of digitally administered public services.

The project advances the U.S. government’s Digital Connectivity and Cybersecurity Partnership to support the development of open, interoperable, reliable and secure communications in the Indo-Pacific region.

This USTDA-sponsored technical assistance will be competed through the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website (www.fbo.gov). A link to the announcement will be posted to USTDA’s website at www.ustda.gov in the coming weeks. Interested firms should submit proposals according to the instructions in the FBO announcement.