STARAUDIT (Government)
Cloud, Security for Environment
A 40-million-Euro cloud service to protect the environment: How cloud certification has significantly improved security. The Chief Officer at the Austrian Ministry for the Environment, reports on a multi-year effort to achieve the highest quality.
Franz Mochty
Head of Unit “Electronic Data Management - Environment”, Austrian Federal Ministry of Environment
Head of the "Electronic Data Management – Environment" unit at the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management. Member of UN/CEFACT (the standardization body for electronic data exchange), Member of CEN (European standardization) TCs and working groups. Austrian member of the Committee for the Adaptation to Scientific and Technical Progress of EU-Legislation on Waste. Leader of the Austrian project EDM (Electronic Data Management – Environment) for the implementation of an electronic data interchange (between companies and competent authorities) and processing system for the environmental sector: edm.gv.at
Franz Mochty is responsible for one of the most complex e-government systems in Europe, the Austrian project EDM (Electronic Data Management – Environment): edm.gv.at.
EDM comprises 23 applications for efficient reporting, data interchange between companies and competent authorities, and support for complex business processes at the interface of economy and administration (like preparation of a license application and subsequent processing at the authority up to publication of the final permit) through its expertise in the environmental area, information on the specific situation (e.g. installations and permits of the applicant) and its tools for communication and organization of required work.
Franz Mochty initiated the development of EDM in 1996. Together with Evelyn Wolfslehner, head of the legal unit of the Waste Management Department, he established the organizational and legal basis for EDM. The project was begun as an efficient IT system for environmental reporting according to EU legislation (e.g. for putting on the market, collecting and recycling batteries / electrical / electronic equipment as well as for the emissions of industrial installations into the air and water, and their waste).
From the beginning, EDM was designed as a cross-sector cloud application. To facilitate the exchange of information with other (EU member) states, e.g. concerning the shipment of waste, EDM was based on the international standards of UN/CEFACT. Over the following years, EDM was developed into a single point of information in the environmental area. Based on his extensive experience in governmental work, Franz Mochty is a key driver for the upgrading of EDM to a knowledge-based system using the collected domain knowledge to optimize business processes and support companies as well as the administration through the integration of business intelligence, structured communication and efficient organization of work into the EDM system.
The main goals of EDM are to guarantee legal compliance and generate valuable knowledge with the lowest possible effort for companies and government, as well as to reduce administrative burden by improving administrative workflows.
Data protection is essential for such a cross-linked one-stop-shop-solution. Therefore, EDM successfully applied for a StarAudit 4-Star certificate as Trusted Cloud Service in 2016.