As governments around the world look to modernise their services for the digital age, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has been proud to support the ongoing efforts of the Scottish Government to enhance the user experience for citizens online.
Over several years, AWS has played a pivotal role in helping Scotland design, build and scale the digital infrastructure underpinning many of the country’s most important online services.
At the heart of this, AWS has supported the Scottish Government’s “Once for Scotland” approach – a philosophy that prioritises building digital services once, in a way that they can be reused across multiple departments, agencies and councils.
It is a model that promotes consistency, efficiency and value for money across the public sector. AWS technology has been a cornerstone of this vision, enabling reusable “digital componentry” that allows teams to innovate quickly without starting from scratch each time.
This approach has already been tested and proven through the deployment of several mission-critical Scottish Government platforms. These include ScotAccount, the national digital identity and login service; ScotPayments, which manages public-sector payments to individuals and organisations; and a range of licensing systems.
Built on AWS’s secure, scalable cloud infrastructure, these applications now support hundreds of thousands of users and provide a model for rapid, reliable digital service delivery.
The success of these projects underscores how flexible cloud technology can empower governments to deploy single sign-on technology for accessing a variety of public services online in Scotland.
AWS have partnered with Scott Logic to build both ScotAccount and ScotPayments. The AWS Partner Network (APN) is a global community that leverages AWS technologies, programs, expertise, and tools to build solutions and services for customers.
It includes more than 140,000 partners across 200-plus countries and territories, with 70% based outside the United States, delivering cloud technology and expertise locally – where they’re needed most. In the UK, AWS works closely with the public sector, supporting projects that range from data analytics in healthcare to AI-powered tools for planning.
In Scotland, that commitment has been embodied through AWS’s involvement in the CivTech innovation accelerator – a programme designed to solve public sector challenges through collaboration with entrepreneurs and tech start-ups.
AWS has been a CivTech partner since 2019, providing cloud expertise, mentoring and infrastructure support – accessible with AWS credits via the AWS Activate programme to help innovators scale solutions rapidly and securely.
One of the standout examples to emerge from this collaboration is ePass – a digital solution that simplifies and modernises the process of issuing government licences. Built on AWS technology, ePass was designed and built in Edinburgh and has evolved through CivTech into a scalable, reusable system that can support a wide variety of licence types across government.
The platform replaces outdated, siloed licensing tools with a single AI enabled digital platform that saves time, reduces fraud and improves processes. This philosophy of reuse and scalability – “build once, use many times” – exemplifies how AWS supports the Scottish Government’s drive for efficiency and innovation.
The launch of the Scottish Government Cloud Platform in 2023 marked another milestone in this journey, providing an environment where public bodies can host digital services and share core components more easily. By standardising the foundations of service delivery, the platform frees teams to focus on designing better experiences for citizens.
The timing of these developments is also critical. Scotland’s public sector is entering a new phase of digital transformation, guided by the Digital Strategy for Scotland published this month. The strategy reaffirms the government’s commitment to using digital technology to enhance public services, drive productivity and improve outcomes for citizens.
Looking ahead, data and artificial intelligence will play an increasingly important role in securing that future. AWS’s global network of data centres and advanced compute capabilities make it an essential ally for organisations looking to harness the power of AI responsibly and securely. Whether it is automating routine tasks, providing predictive insights to help policymakers, or improving citizen engagement, AI has the potential to transform how government works.
With an Amazon development centre in Edinburgh, Scotland is ready to benefit from that opportunity. As a major cloud and digital supplier, AWS and AWS partners in Scotland will continue to play a key role in the development of new government services, supporting Scotland’s digital ambitions to provide a secure, reusable infrastructure that gives citizens a simple, trusted way to access public services online. The building blocks to support that lasting change are already in place. The challenge – and the opportunity – lies in putting them to work for everyone.
