By Donna Hemmert, VP Strategy
Just two years ago, the Office of Management and Budget implemented a “Cloud First” policy. In an effort to reduce costs and increase efficiency, they provided a set of cloud-based requirements requiring agencies to use and encouraged cloud-based solutions wherever there is a secure, reliable and cost effective cloud solution. Since then, several agencies have already transitioned including Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and the Treasury Department.
The solutions they have deployed in the cloud are services such as storage, email, procurement, production infrastructure at DHS, IT power management, correspondence tracking and invoicing. Others have been identified as possible opportunities for cloud implementations and the agencies continue to pursue the Cloud.
I think this speaks to how far the cloud computing has come in a short time in terms of technology and acceptance. The government is not known as a risk taker when it comes to IT and additionally has high standards for security. We find this very interesting so stay tuned for updates on the “Cloud First” Policy.