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Christophe Pierre “Now, the main calculation facilities in the Principality, which would
demand millions of servers – so this is why the
digital developments are cloud-based.” cloud is useful.

Why was the American company, Amazon,
selected? There was talk of Microsoft or Google…
In 2021, Monaco will have its own sovereign cloud, managed We approached all three web giants and we were

by the Monégasque company, Monaco Cloud, in partnership ultimately attracted by the transparency and the
guarantees offered by Amazon. With the signing
with Amazon. A notable result will be the ability to host of this partnership with AWS, Monaco benefits
from the progress of a company that spends
Monaco’s digital identity scheme. Interview with Christophe billions of euros on research and investment. This
way, we do not have to do that ourselves but the
Pierre, Director of Platforms and Digital Resources. operator’s clients have available to them the best
new developments for their digital needs.
In real terms, what is the purpose of the sovereign first about the cloud and we develop for the cloud.
cloud? In the government, we want to lead by example and How can the security of the data be ensured?
The aim of the sovereign cloud, managed by the the private sector should follow. It’s a big pooling The data is stored in the Principality under
Monaco company, Monaco Cloud, is to construct effort and everyone can benefit from the cloud. Monaco law and is secured according to the
a Monégasque digital ecosystem that meets recommendations of Monaco’s National Cyber
the highest of standards, particularly in terms What are the advantages of the cloud? Security Agency. We are, after all, ourselves, in
of accessibility to the big, international online The benefits are to do with the cloud’s flexibility command of this infrastructure! Confidentiality is
platforms. These are not in the Principality, and agility. Consumption is on demand and we a real challenge. By default, in the cloud, everything
creating problems for IT directors of companies are billed for what we consume. Amazon Web is encrypted and customers can encrypt with their
which have many missions to perform… The cloud Services (AWS)’s motto is “pay as you go”, enabling own keys. Without these encryption keys, hackers
is the necessary and essential infrastructure to you to control your how much you consume. Also, cannot know the contents of the data! To clarify,
develop many services for the future, such as in there is ten times the IT power behind the cloud, the customer will have the choice to trust AWS,
e-health, e-education and for a smart city. Now, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, Monaco Cloud or their own encryption keys.
the main developments in IT (payroll software, which will help in political decision-making about,
demat software and so on) are cloud-based. It’s for example, environmental or e-health matters. Nonetheless, a twin information system will be
the principle of “cloud first”, meaning that we think It would be impossible to have such powerful kept in Luxembourg. Why is this?
This is being set up. A back-up of data, situated
2,000 kilometres away, is essential in order to save
the information in the case of accident.

On a practical level, the cloud’s arrival almost
coincides with that of digital identity. How is
the cloud going to help this digital revolution?
These days, we often need to identify ourselves and
prove who we are, each time we want to subscribe
to something, whether it be in school, at the bank
or with the police. Digital identity will make life
simpler, freeing us of paper and making things
quicker – all our purchases and administrative
dealings will be sped up. Digital identity will promote
the one-stop-shop, creating a new relationship
between the administration and the population;
© Manuel Vitali – Direction de la Communication holding of video-based AGMs and secure sending
it will also enable the signing of contracts, the
of documents. In the end, we will be transplanting
the Monaco ecosystem into a trustworthy one –
and it is the cloud that will be the guardian of this
meeting place, where digital identity will be checked
and exchanges will be developed.

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