Oracle has announced a new UK data centre plan, which will be focused on the G-Cloud initiative.

The new data centre will be located in Thames Valley and will be designed to comply with standards for government cloud hosting. In addition to security considerations, the facilities will allow the government to ensure that the data is not being hosted on foreign soil.

Such a facility would then be able to provide cloud services for public sector departments under the UK’s G-Cloud guidelines. The framework, designed to cut IT spending and improve efficiency, pushes government departments to work with approved cloud service providers. Oracle is just one of the hundreds of IT suppliers now on the framework.

Oracle president Mark Hurd said, “We applaud the G-Cloud program and believe it represents a significant step in the provision of public sector IT services. We are delighted to bring our technology, applications and experience to the initiative and to make significant investments in the new data centre and infrastructure that will be dedicated to the UK government’s G-Cloud initiative.”

In total, the G-Cloud includes some 708 suppliers of cloud services, many of which are small and medium enterprises. Earlier this month, the framework was expanded with 368 additional providers.

In addition to serving as a means for cutting IT spending and improving efficiency, the G-Cloud initiative has been hailed as a possible boon for data security. By moving data into the cloud and off dated or obsolete hardware, government agencies can help to make sure private data is secured.

Despite its advantages, even G-Cloud’s biggest backers have admitted that the platform has had problems gaining traction with public agencies.