Digital tech stacks for the public sector

Shared Infrastructure for Digital Government Services

GovTech manages the Singapore Government Tech Stack (SGTS), a shared platform of reusable APIs, components, and infrastructure that all government agencies use to build digital services.

SGTS covers the foundational capabilities every agency needs: digital identity (Singpass), data pre-filling (MyInfo), payments (PayNow), notifications (Postman), cloud hosting (Government on Commercial Cloud, or GCC), and API exchange (APEX). By building on this shared government tech stack ↗ (opens in new tab), agencies avoid duplicating common infrastructure and focus their engineering capacity on service-specific features, reducing time-to-market from months to weeks.

A shared foundation for digital government

GovTech is the Singapore government's central technology agency, responsible for building and operating the shared infrastructure that public sector agencies use to deliver digital services. Rather than have each agency procure and build its own solutions independently, GovTech provides proven, government-grade components that any agency can adopt.

This model is mandated by the Digital Government Blueprint ↗ (opens in new tab), the policy that commits every ministry to adopting shared infrastructure across the whole of government, giving citizens and businesses a consistent and secure experience.

Building digital services faster

Agencies using SGTS reduce time-to-market for new digital services from months to weeks. Pre-built, government-grade components replace what each agency would otherwise design, procure, and build independently.

• No duplication: Without SGTS, every agency would build its own login, payment, and notification system, wasting engineering capacity on infrastructure that already exists.

• Automatic upgrades: When GovTech improves an SGTS component, such as Singpass authentication or MyInfo data pre-filling, every agency service built on it benefits automatically, with no agency-side effort.

• Interoperability: SGTS is API-first, so data flows across ministries without bespoke point-to-point integrations between agencies.

• Developer support: GovTech provides API documentation, sandbox environments, and integration support through the Singapore Government Developer Portal, so agency teams can onboard without starting from scratch.

The Digital Government Blueprint

The Digital Government Blueprint commits the Singapore government to a cloud-first, interoperable-by-design, and reuse-before-build technology model, and SGTS is how those principles are put into practice. Two principles matter most for agency developers:

• Reuse before buy before build: Agencies must check whether a shared component already exists before procuring or building their own.

• Cloud-first: All new agency services should be cloud-native.

SGTS supports Singapore's Smart Nation 2.0 ↗ (opens in new tab) agenda by ensuring government digital services are built on a consistent, scalable, and interoperable foundation.

GovTech’s unique role 

GovTech is the engineering arm of the Singapore government. It does not just advise on technology, it builds and operates the actual whole-of-government tech stack, including SGTS, Singpass, MyInfo, FormSG, GoBusiness, the Government on Commercial Cloud, and Codex. No other agency in Singapore, and very few governments anywhere in the world, owns a comparable full-stack platform spanning identity, payments, hosting, and data exchange.

GovTech’s core infrastructure products

These products are built for government agencies and their developers. SGTS, GCC, and APEX together form the shared, whole-of-government tech infrastructure that agencies use to build, host, and connect digital services. Built cloud-native and API-first, the stack supports modern development practices including microservices, continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD), and containerisation.

Singapore Government Tech Stack (SGTS)

The Singapore Government Tech Stack (SGTS) is GovTech's library of pre-built government components. Agencies integrate Singpass for identity, MyInfo for data pre-filling, PayNow and PayLah! for payments, and Postman for notifications across email, SMS, and WhatsApp, without building any of these from scratch. Each component meets government security standards and is continuously maintained by GovTech. Every agency that needs identity, payments, notifications, or data pre-filling uses the same stack, which is the definition of whole-of-government infrastructure.

Government on Commercial Cloud (GCC)

Government on Commercial Cloud (GCC) lets agencies host digital services on Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform within Singapore government security controls. Agencies get cloud-native scalability, access to managed AI and data services, and faster deployment cycles, without compromising on data classification requirements. Because GCC supports multiple cloud providers under one governed framework, agencies also avoid being locked into a single vendor. GovTech sets the security standards, and agencies host through GCC rather than procuring cloud independently. It is a centrally governed cloud environment that is whole-of-government by design.

API Exchange (APEX)

APEX is the Singapore government's centralised API gateway. Agencies publish and consume APIs across ministries through a single, governed platform, enabling cross-agency data sharing without custom point-to-point integrations. APEX also provides a catalogue of available government APIs, so agency developers can discover and reuse what already exists.

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Frequently asked questions about the Singapore Government tech stack

What is the difference between SGTS, GCC, and APEX, and does our agency need all three?

SGTS is the component library (identity, payments, notifications, data pre-filling). GCC is the cloud hosting environment for government services. APEX is the API gateway for cross-agency data sharing. Most agencies use all three: they build services using SGTS components, host them on GCC, and share data across ministries via APEX.

What security standards does GCC meet, and how does it handle sensitive or classified government data?

GCC operates within the Singapore government's cloud security framework, with enhanced controls for sensitive data classifications. Agencies handling data classified as Restricted or above must follow GovTech's Government on Commercial Cloud security requirements, including data residency, access controls, and audit logging standards ↗ (opens in new tab). GovTech's team assesses each agency's requirements during onboarding.

How do you migrate legacy systems to SGTS and GCC without disrupting live services?

GovTech recommends a phased migration rather than a single switchover. Following the reuse-before-buy mandate, agencies first identify which SGTS components can replace existing systems, then move workloads to GCC with GovTech's onboarding support. APEX can bridge legacy and modern systems during the transition, so data keeps flowing while services are migrated in stages. For the full approach, see GovTech's whole-of-government migration strategy framework.