The Centre for Strategic Infocomm Technologies (CSIT) and Google Cloud have joined forces to pioneer the application of Google Distributed Cloud Hosted (GDC Hosted) in addressing Singapore’s defense and security challenges. CSIT, an integral member of the Defence Technology Community, has been actively engaged in enhancing GDC Hosted by providing valuable use cases and technical requirements.
In an innovative pilot program, CSIT will leverage GDC Hosted on-premises, capitalizing on its built-in data management and pre-trained machine learning capabilities to process sensitive data. GDC Hosted stands out by offering a cloud platform tailored for public sector organizations and highly regulated industries, eliminating the need for connectivity to Google Cloud or the public internet. This ensures the capability to run workloads in data centers while retaining the functionality, flexibility, and scale characteristic of cloud services.
Key features of GDC Hosted include the ability to form clusters across multiple zones for added protection against system failures, as well as flexible options for incorporating additional compute resources, including graphics processing units (GPUs) designed for demanding AI workloads.
With a focus on data, operational, and software sovereignty, GDC Hosted integrates advanced AI and database services such as Vertex AI and AlloyDB Omni, providing customers like CSIT with enhanced control and transparency over sensitive data. Updates, including Google Cloud’s pre-trained AI models, are accessed securely and installed by the customer, ensuring complete operational control over data and software.
Built on industry-leading open source components like Kubernetes, GDC Hosted offers familiarity to developers, enabling CSIT’s technical personnel to operate the solution and its applications with minimal retraining. Darren Teo, Chief Executive of CSIT, expressed enthusiasm about tapping into Google Cloud’s expertise in data management, cloud technologies, and AI while ensuring the security of sensitive data.
Mitesh Agarwal, Managing Director, Technology and Solutions, Asia Pacific, Google Cloud, highlighted the significance of GDC Hosted, stating that it combines the benefits of fully managed and scalable infrastructure with operational flexibility. The collaboration aims to contribute to CSIT’s efforts to stay at the forefront of the evolving cyber defense landscape.
