So a major question you should be asking right now is: Why are we so worked up about cloud computing now if it's been around and in use for a couple of years already? There are two answers to this question. 1) Microsoft has now become a cloud supplier, and since they've been doing a lot of advertising about it lately, the idea has finally reached the public's ears.
The second reason is far less fickle than the public's attention: The Obama Administration has asked agencies to cut the number of federal data centers by 40% in five years and identify 3 applications to move to a cloud in the next 18 months, one of which must be moved successfully in only 12.
This means that the U.S. Government will be on clouds (and servers) which could potentially be accessible by anyone. Obviously there's an issue with confidentiality, but ever since WikiLeaks went live, transparency in the Government is sky high. Now, they decided, is a good time to switch to cloud computing, and for a number of different reasons, one of which is cost effectiveness. Because cloud computing is mostly cheaper than owning multiple copies of the same software, the United States Government is cutting their technology budget, however marginally. This doesn't mean that taxes are going down anytime soon, but it does mean that the deficit won't be as large as it would have been without the cloud.
The question that the Government is now asking is which cloud provider will best meet their needs. The General Service Provider (GSA) is the odds-on favorite (mostly because it's also controlled by the Government) for most departments, but since each department is run individually, the choices will be varied. Some may choose public cloud providers such as Amazon or Salesforce, and some may even choose Microsoft.
The most technically-savvy of the departments will use their own cloud because they are equipped with the infrastructure and tech support to have it. For example, NASA's cloud, nicknamed Nebula, is an open-source cloud computing service specifically designed for NASA scientists and data processing. The Department of Energy (DOE) will be using its own Magellan program due to the specificity needed for their research problems, and the lack of this technology on public clouds.
Other, smaller municipalities are heading in this direction as well. New Mexico is looking to reduce IT and electricity costs with cloud computing, and in 2010 New York City made a deal with Microsoft for a single, citywide license under which the city will pay only for the applications that city employees actually use.
So the next time someone says you have your head in the clouds, retaliate by saying "That's where all the information is." You wouldn't be lying either.
The second reason is far less fickle than the public's attention: The Obama Administration has asked agencies to cut the number of federal data centers by 40% in five years and identify 3 applications to move to a cloud in the next 18 months, one of which must be moved successfully in only 12.
This means that the U.S. Government will be on clouds (and servers) which could potentially be accessible by anyone. Obviously there's an issue with confidentiality, but ever since WikiLeaks went live, transparency in the Government is sky high. Now, they decided, is a good time to switch to cloud computing, and for a number of different reasons, one of which is cost effectiveness. Because cloud computing is mostly cheaper than owning multiple copies of the same software, the United States Government is cutting their technology budget, however marginally. This doesn't mean that taxes are going down anytime soon, but it does mean that the deficit won't be as large as it would have been without the cloud.
The question that the Government is now asking is which cloud provider will best meet their needs. The General Service Provider (GSA) is the odds-on favorite (mostly because it's also controlled by the Government) for most departments, but since each department is run individually, the choices will be varied. Some may choose public cloud providers such as Amazon or Salesforce, and some may even choose Microsoft.
The most technically-savvy of the departments will use their own cloud because they are equipped with the infrastructure and tech support to have it. For example, NASA's cloud, nicknamed Nebula, is an open-source cloud computing service specifically designed for NASA scientists and data processing. The Department of Energy (DOE) will be using its own Magellan program due to the specificity needed for their research problems, and the lack of this technology on public clouds.
Other, smaller municipalities are heading in this direction as well. New Mexico is looking to reduce IT and electricity costs with cloud computing, and in 2010 New York City made a deal with Microsoft for a single, citywide license under which the city will pay only for the applications that city employees actually use.
So the next time someone says you have your head in the clouds, retaliate by saying "That's where all the information is." You wouldn't be lying either.