Artur Lima highlights digital transition progress in the Azores - Communication

Vice-Presidência do Governo Regional

The Vice-President of the Regional Government, Artur Lima, chaired today the opening session of the “Digital Atlantic Summit,” an initiative aimed at promoting and showcasing the main projects and investments currently underway in the field of digital transition in the Azores.

According to the Vice-President of the Regional Government, “the digital transition is the most powerful way to mitigate the effects of remoteness, bringing the administration closer to citizens, making businesses more competitive, and safeguarding sovereignty and resilience in a globalised era.”

However, such potential “cannot be something abstract or invisible. It must be tangible, secure and useful for citizens and businesses,” he emphasised.

The “Digital Atlantic Summit” aims to promote work in areas such as digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, administrative modernisation and the information systems of the Regional Public Administration. In particular, the spotlight will fall on the Azores Cloud, the Mobile.Gov and Azores Cyber360º platforms, the LINKA digital ecosystem, and the SIMA and SIMA+Local modernisation incentive schemes.

“Azores Cloud, our sovereign cloud, is strategically supported by two data centres on different islands, ensuring redundancy, resilience and the security of our data,” emphasised Artur Lima.

“Azores Cyber360º is a cross-cutting cybersecurity project that has enabled us to establish a state-of-the-art regional Security Operations Centre, whilst SIMA and SIMA+Local are the main drivers of administrative simplification and modernisation,” he added.

The Vice-President of the Government also highlighted the importance of dedicating the second day of the event to Azorean students.

“Tomorrow, the second day will be dedicated to those who are the true digital natives and the future leaders of our economy: the students of our vocational schools and the University of the Azores. It is for them that we are building this infrastructure, and it is upon them that the success of this transition rests,” he stated.

Artur Lima also welcomed the participation and collaboration of leading national and international technology companies, notably Google, Palo Alto, OutSystems, NOS, Altice, Ask Blue and FSAS.

“The Digital Atlantic Summit is clear proof that the Atlantic no longer isolates us. The Atlantic, now digital, connects us to the world,” stated the government official.

The Digital Atlantic Summit is organised by the Vice-Presidency of the Regional Government, through the Regional Directorate for Communications and Digital Transition. This first edition will take place in two stages: June 15 and 16 on the island of Terceira, and June 18 and 19 on the island of São Miguel. The full programme is available at https://portal.azores.gov.pt/web/drcomunicacoes/digital-atlantic-summit.