The Senate of the Republic will debate this Tuesday the situation of the public cloud in Colombia, after the completion of the Price Framework Agreement IV (AMP IV), a key contract for the provision of technological services to the State.
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The issue, included as Agenda Proposition 14, has ignited alerts on the continuity of government digital services, transparency in contracting and risks of market concentration.
The summons, protected by the political control powers of Congress, involves the ministers of Information and Communications Technologies, Science, Technology and Innovation, and Commerce, Industry and Tourism, as well as the directors of the National Planning Department (DNP), the Administrative Department of the Presidency of the Republic (DAPRE), Colombia Compra Eficiente and the company Internexa.
The discussion will focus on three main facts: the termination of the IV Framework Agreement on August 31, 2025 without a transition instrument, Presidential Directive 06 of 2025, which instructs Internexa to be privileged as a strategic provider, and the measures to guarantee continuity and plurality in cloud services for State entities.
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The debate arises after more than 18 public entities, including the Ministry of Health, the Judicial Branch, the ICBF and the SENA, were affected by the suspension of contracts derived from AMP IV.
Colombia Compra Eficiente must explain the technical and legal reasons that led to letting the agreement expire. despite the fact that, according to the document, there was acceptance from suppliers to extend it until November 9, 2025.
Among the topics that will be discussed is also information security, following the background of the cyberattack on IFX in 2023. The authorities will be asked to define which international cybersecurity standards (such as CSA STAR Level 2, FedRAMP or SOC 2) will be mandatory in the new Framework Agreement V, currently being structured.
For its part, the National Planning Department must explain the fiscal and budgetary impacts of the suspension of the bidding process, estimated at 1.3 billion pesos, and the measures to avoid risks in critical services such as health, justice or social programs.
The MinTIC, meanwhile, must report on contingency plans, daily monitoring of digital services and coordination with the National Digital Security Agency and the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce.
The Comptroller’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office were also invited to the session to present progress in the preventive and fiscal investigations related to this process.. Both organizations have warned about possible violations of the principles of planning and free competition, and about the risks of favoring a single operator.
With this plenary session, Congress seeks to determine whether the decisions adopted by the National Government regarding public cloud will guarantee technological sovereignty, digital security and transparency in state contracting, in a context in which the country’s digital infrastructure increasingly depends on cloud services.
JOHANA LORDUY
PORTFOLIO journalist
