The Government of Ontario collaborated with Microsoft over a year to test expanding IT services to a private cloud built on Windows Server 2008 R2 and Hyper-V. This proved successful, improving efficiency, scalability, and faster delivery of services. It demonstrated the potential of a private cloud to modernize aging infrastructure, enhance sharing of services among agencies, and keep Ontario at the forefront of digital innovation.

1. Microsoft Government
Customer Solution Case Study
Ontario Government Sees Waves of Potential
After Testing Private Cloud Solution
Overview
Country or Region: Canada
Industry: Government
Customer Profile
The Government of Ontario employs
67,000 people across more than 25
ministries and hundreds of affiliated
agencies through the OntarioPublic
Service (OPS).
Business Situation
As Ontario sought to modernize its aging
infrastructure, its government wanted to
test the feasibility of setting up a private
cloud.
Solution
The Government of Ontario collaborated
with Microsoft to test the feasibility of
expanding a chosen set of IT services to a
private cloud, built on Windows Server
2008 R2 with Hyper-V technology and
Microsoft System Center data centre
solutions.
Benefits
 Updated IT infrastructure and aligned
with introduction of new data centre
 Architected services to share
underlying infrastructure resources
without losingprivacy and security
 Brought agencies onboard in a cost-
effective manner
 Aligned with industry best practices to
keep Ontario at the forefront of the
digital world
“Cloud computing is the way of the future. This partner-
ship was a first successful step in the direction toward a
better way of using and delivering online services.”
David Nicholl, Corporate Chief Information and Information
Technology Officer, Government of Ontario
As Ontario, Canada’s largest province, sought to update its
aging infrastructure in advance of a new data centre in March
2011, the government wanted to test the feasibility of setting up
a private cloud to improve efficiency and collaboration and to
continue to bring itself in line with best business practices in the
digital environment and industry. The Government of Ontario
collaborated with Microsoft for over a year to test the feasibility
of expanding a chosen set of IT services to a private cloud built
on Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V technology and
Microsoft System Center data centre solutions—including
Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Forefront
Identity Manager, Windows 7, and Microsoft Office 2010—
demonstrating how the Ontario Public Service could
immediately use the technology and identifying other future
opportunities.

2. Situation
Employing 67,000 people across more than
25 ministries and hundreds of affiliated
agencies, the Government of Ontario has
been refining a digital strategy as a key
priority for well over a decade.
Specifically, the province has been
undertaking a number of initiatives in
recent years to improve its information
technology (IT) structure and the province’s
overall technology environment, including
the recent move to replace an aging data
centre and funding to expand broadband
Internet access across rural Ontario.
As more Canadians turn to the Internet as a
way to interact with people and services, IT
has become essential in supporting the
government’s daily operations and in
enabling business transformation.
Although IT infrastructure is managed in a
consolidated way, each of Ontario’s
governmental departments manages its
own information,resulting in duplication
and sometimes fragmentation in systems
that don’t always integrate. As a result,
collaboration and upgrades can be time-
consuming and more difficult.
With an eye to the future, the province
suggested the concept of cloud computing
as a way to solve some of these problems.
Solution
The Office of the Corporate Chief
Information Officer (OCCIO)—which
provides leadership for the Ontario
Government’s IT needs, including
implementation for common infrastructure,
identification of new technology solutions,
and delivery of cost-effective services—
spearheads Ontario’s ongoing efforts to
become a digital leader in the public sector.
Essentially tasked with leadingthe
province’s transformation to electronic
government (e-government), the OCCIO
works on projects with timelines as long as
five years.
“We really are a forward-looking
organization,” says David Nicholl, Ontario’s
Corporate Chief Information and
Information Technology Officer. “There’s no
doubt that technologicaladvancement will
be a key characteristic of future economic
growth and innovation,and Ontariois
continuously looking at ways we can better
communicate online with each other, with
businesses, and with citizens.”
The Ontario Public Service (OPS) has been
exploring a cloud-based strategy since
2009 and decided to partner with
Microsoft, which it saw as the forerunner in
the cloud computing world. “Microsoft is
an important partner of ours,” says Nicholl.
“They have a history of innovation in the
field, and as issues arose during the project,
Microsoft was always there to drive it
forward.”
Over the next year, the Government of
Ontario and Microsoft collaboratedto test
the feasibility of expanding some IT
services to a private cloud built on
Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V
technology and Microsoft System Center
data centre solutions,includingMicrosoft
Exchange, Microsoft SharePoint,Microsoft
Forefront Identity Manager, Windows 7,
and Microsoft Office 2010.
This proof-of-concept (POC) experiment
was delivered in partnership with Microsoft
Consulting Services and took place in eight
phases, with different applications being
tested as the project progressed. The goal
was to demonstrate how the OPS could
immediately take advantage of private
cloud computing internally while also
considering potential applications for the
future.
“Microsoft is an
important partner of
ours. They have a history
of innovation in the field,
and as issues arose
duringthe project,
Microsoft was always
there to drive it forward.”
David Nicholl, Corporate Chief
Information and Information Technology
Officer, Government of Ontario

3. Benefits
Testing of the private cloud POC proved
very successful, with Ontario recording
“significant” improvements in efficiency,
utilization of shared services, and scalability
as new tasks and projects arose.
The result was a substantial improvement
in project delivery time and increased
ability to provide stronger, faster, and
cheaper IT services. Overall, the IT
experience was notably more streamlined,
setting the stage for future growth as the
need arises.
Microsoft and the OCCIO both agree that
the OPS needs to move on to further
testing in order to capitalize on the wave of
momentum stemming from the project,
perhaps with as many as 8,000 employees.
But the feasibility study has already put
Ontario on the global map in terms of IT
leadership in the public sector; similar
projects are currently underway in Germany
and Denmark.
“Cloud computing is the way of the future,”
says Nicholl. “We want a seamless e-
government system, where citizens and
business are offered a one-window
approach across all of our ministries. This
partnership was a first successful step in the
direction toward a better way of using and
delivering online services.”
In addition to shared email and documents
and simultaneous roll-out of upgrades, the
OCCIO also suggests that a private cloud
will have a number of potential practical
applications.
For example, when large-scale events, like
the provincial election, take place, a private
cloud powered by Windows Server 2008 R2
with Hyper-V technology and System
Center solutions could be scaled out
quickly and efficiently—to enable
immediate access to cost-effective
computing resources, which could support
high-volume transactions. The OCCIO
delivers over 200 IT projects annually that
are dependent on IT infrastructure. These
key projects could also be fast-tracked by
using the elasticity and automation of the
cloud to deal with increased demand and
aggressive project timelines.
The broader public sector could also
benefit froman OPS private cloud by being
able to access and manage common
shared services like email and collaboration
tools. This would allow greater efficiencies
in IT infrastructure investments, helpingto
drive down the cost of shared services.
Additionally, the OPS–Microsoft
partnership permits the public sector to
define the cloud on its terms, allowing the
OPS to maintain the security and privacy of
its information assets while benefitingfrom
improved availability and resilience.
Further, the Government of Ontario and
Microsoft see the long-termopportunities
for the private cloud as allowing for the
modernization of IT infrastructure;
enhancement of shared services across
ministries, agencies, and the broader public
sector; and a general alignment with
industry best practices to continue to keep
Ontario at the forefront of the digital world.
“This was a unique opportunity for the
Ontario government to partner with
Microsoft in the name of innovation,” says
Nicholl. “The fact that Ontario has actually
helped to drive the shape of this project
ensures cloud computing can be an
important part of business transformation
for the OPS going forward.”
“This was a unique
opportunity for the
Ontario governmentto
partner with Microsoft in
the name of innovation.
The fact that Ontario has
actually helpedto drive
the shape of this project
ensures cloud comput-
ing can be an important
part of business
transformation for the
OPS going forward.”
David Nicholl, Corporate Chief
Information and Information Technology
Officer, Government of Ontario

4. Microsoft Government
Microsoft applications,solutions, and
services help to empower public servants
and government employees to share critical
information and serve their constituents
more efficiently.
For more information about Microsoft
Government, please go to:
www.microsoft.com/industry/government
www.microsoft.com/industry/government/f
ederal
www.microsoft.com/industry/government/s
tate
For More Information
For more information about Microsoft
products and services, call the Microsoft
Sales Information Center at (800) 426-
9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft
Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-
2495. Customers in the United States and
Canada who are deaf or hard-of-hearing
can reach Microsoft text telephone
(TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234.
Outside the 50 United States and
Canada, please contact your local
Microsoft subsidiary. To access
information using the World Wide Web,
go to:
www.microsoft.com
For more information about the Govern-
ment of Ontario, visit the website at:
www.ontario.ca
This case study is for informational purposes only.
MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.
Document published October 2011
Software and Services
 Microsoft Server Product Portfolio
− Windows Server 2008 R2
− Microsoft Exchange Server
− Microsoft Forefront Identity Manager
− Microsoft SharePoint Server
− Microsoft System Center
 Windows 7
 Microsoft Office
− Microsoft Office 2010
 Services
− Microsoft Services
 Technologies
− Hyper-V