Singapore: The New Zealand Ministry of Health has inked a five-year contract with tech giant IBM, to deliver high secure cloud solutions that will operate an onshore Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model. The adoption of IBM Cloud follows an agreement by Health Benefits, to consolidate all 20 District Health Boards on IBM Cloud as part of the National Infrastructure Platform.

New Zealand's Ministry of Health, the government's principal policy advisor on health and disability, manages an infrastructure that supports internal IT systems as well as national health systems. These include the National Health Payment System, which processes transactions for pharmacy and health care providers, and the National Health Index database, used to help with the planning, coordination and provisioning of services across the country.

Mr Graeme Osborne, director of the National Health IT Board, commented, "The agreement is a key element in improving the Ministry of Health's ability to deliver shared services for the sector, which enables secure access to personal health records for patients and their health care providers. This will help in improving productivity and patient safety, and enable new models of care through strategic technology investments."

Mr Andrew Buchanan, Cloud Business Leader, IBM New Zealand, mentioned, "We continue to invest in advanced technology infrastructure vital for New Zealand's long-term economic growth. IBM's cloud services offer customers like the Ministry of Health the most comprehensive enterprise-grade cloud environment in New Zealand and will support new, enhanced services for the public, suppliers and staff."