The Public Administration has seen growth in cloud adoption and increased investment
Update 22.07.2026
There has been a growing trend in the public sector towards adopting cloud services.
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In Detail
According to a sample of organisations that responded to the national survey, Portuguese public administration has seen a significant increase in cloud computing service adoption over the past two years. The average investment per organisation has risen from around €55,000 in 2023 to approximately €136,000 in 2025.
These findings are presented in the Cloud Governance Impact Assessment Report for Public Administration – 2025, which was published on 30 March 2026 by the Agency for State Technological Reform (ARTE). The report highlights the key findings and recommendations from the national survey, which was conducted between December 2025 and February 2026 and received 262 responses from public sector organisations, including ministries, public institutes, municipalities, parish councils and school clusters.
Cloud adoption reached 77% among the respondents
According to the report, 77% of the organisations surveyed are using cloud services. Of these, 201 reported using cloud solutions, 51 said they do not currently use cloud services, and 10 are in the planning stage.
Adoption is highest among larger organisations, such as public institutes, regulatory authorities, and higher education institutions. Smaller organisations and those with a more local scope are still expanding their use of the cloud.
Service models continue to evolve
The Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model, for example, has experienced sustained growth among participating organisations, increasing from 11% in 2020 to 38% in 2025. This reflects ongoing technological development and provides a stronger foundation for new digital solutions, including those powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
The distribution across the three cloud service models — IaaS, PaaS and SaaS — is now more balanced than in previous reporting cycles.
Artificial intelligence is still in its early stages
The adoption of AI remains in its infancy. Of the organisations surveyed, 163 reported that they had not developed any AI projects in the past year.
The main barriers identified were the need to strengthen internal skills, associated costs and security and data protection concerns.
Providers based in Portugal and across Europe
Most of the cloud services used by the surveyed organisations are provided by suppliers based in Portugal and other European Union countries, as well as by international providers.
The report notes that this mix reflects the operational requirements of organisations while remaining aligned with broader digital sovereignty objectives.
Cloud governance continues to mature
The study shows that cloud governance models are still evolving in many organisations. Practices such as FinOps, DevOps and multi-cloud strategies are being adopted, although implementation is still in its infancy.
Skills development remains a key success factor
Training and skills development are identified as essential enablers for accelerating technology adoption. The report highlights that today's key challenges are primarily organisational and people-related rather than technological.
The next step is strategic consolidation
The report concludes that participating organisations are at an intermediate level of cloud maturity. The next phase will focus on strengthening this consolidation strategy to build a more resilient public sector infrastructure that is aligned with the future National Sovereign Cloud Plan and the objectives of the National Digital Strategy.
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