Getting the foundations right: why fundamentals matter for the public sector cloud journey

In government, there is constant pressure to modernise services, adopt new technologies and deliver better outcomes for citizens. Cloud and AI are often seen as the engines of this change. Yet the conversations at DigiGov 2025 highlighted something more fundamental: lasting transformation depends on strong foundations. 

For many organisations, this ambition must be achieved while managing complex estates, limited budgets and rising citizen expectations. Against this backdrop, the fundamentals matter more than ever. 

Why foundations come first 

For many public sector organisations, the challenge is not a lack of ambition but the difficulty of modernising complex estates while continuing to deliver critical services. Too often, organisations attempt to leap ahead with ambitious AI pilots or large-scale migrations without first addressing the essentials. The result can be environments that are fragmented, costly or exposed to risk. Governance is applied unevenly. Security controls are bolted on rather than embedded. Legacy infrastructure strains under the weight of modern applications. In this context, innovation becomes fragile. 

Cloud is already well established in government; the State of Digital Government Review reported that around 60% of public sector IT systems now run on cloud services but adoption remains inconsistent, particularly across local government. This uneven progress underlines why foundations matter so much. Secure architectures, aligned standards, clear governance and resilient infrastructure create the stability that allows new capabilities to thrive. Without them, the most promising initiatives risk under-delivery. With them, organisations gain the confidence to innovate at scale. 

Frameworks such as the Well-Architected Framework (WAF) provide a structured way to review cloud environments and identify where improvements are most needed. More than a technical exercise, they help decision-makers see clearly where risks exist, where investment can deliver the greatest value, and how to create a roadmap for sustainable growth. 

At Sopra Steria, we work with organisations to apply frameworks like WAF not as a one-off exercises, but as part of a continuous process of strengthening environments and building resilience. They ensure that investments are grounded in best practice, costs are optimised, and security and governance are embedded from the outset. Above all, they shift the conversation from “how do we add more” to “how do we build better.” 

Together, these examples reinforced the same message: technology can only deliver on its promise when the fundamentals are embedded from the start. 

Sustainability is sometimes seen as a parallel objective to digital transformation. In reality, it’s a part of the foundation. Optimising cloud environments, consolidating infrastructure and applying AI responsibly are decisions that reduce cost, improve resilience and minimise environmental impact. 

The challenge is that many organisations still struggle to put these fundamentals in place. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD has reported that 70% of UK government bodies cite lack of skills as a major barrier to adopting AI effectively, while concerns about security, data privacy and energy usage continue to grow. These pressures highlight why sustainability and responsibility cannot be treated as optional extras, they need to be embedded from the outset. 

For Sopra Steria, sustainability is not an add-on but a core design principle; one that sits alongside governance and security as a foundation for long-term innovation. Our commitment includes initiatives such as joining the Government Digital Sustainability Alliance, working with government and industry to embed sustainable ICT practices into digital estates from the ground up. 

Public sector leaders know that transformation is not a quick win. It requires consistency, credibility and partnerships that endure beyond individual projects. The challenge is not only to deliver innovation today but to create the conditions for innovation to continue tomorrow. 

Ambition is not the issue. A recent survey of more than 900 UK public sector professionals, published on Arxiv in 2024, found that 45% were aware of generative AI being used in their area, but only 22% were actively using it. The gap reflects the difficulty of moving from pilots to scale without the right foundations; strong governance, secure infrastructure and resilient skills. 

This is why we focus relentlessly on the fundamentals. By strengthening governance, modernising infrastructure and embedding sustainability, we help create the conditions where cloud and AI can deliver genuine, long-term impact. 

The lesson from DigiGov is clear. Innovation may capture attention, but it is the unseen work,  that ultimately determines whether transformation endures. For the public sector, the next phase of digital progress will depend not on adopting more technologies, but on embedding the resilience to use them well. We believe a foundations-first approach is essential in order for cloud and AI to scale responsibly and deliver long-term value for citizens. 

This approach reflects our wider social value and sustainability commitments — ensuring that transformation delivers positive impact not only for services, but for society and the environment too. 

Embedding governance, security and sustainability today is what ensures innovation lasts tomorrow. If you’d like to continue the conversation, please get in touch with our team.