Bob Gourley on Cloud Computing and NetCentric Operations

Cloud Computing as a Strategic Asset

By G C Network | April 30, 2009

For some reason, this week seems to have more in it than most. While the steady stream of briefing request seem to be increasing, the post briefing discussions also seem…

Vivek Kundra: “Engage the American People in their Daily Digital Lives”

By G C Network | April 25, 2009

Today I attended a very impressive talk by the Federal CIO, Mr. Vivek Kundra at a Northern Virginia Technology Council Public Policy event. His open and “matter of fact” approach…

McKinsey vs. Booz Allen Hamilton !

By G C Network | April 21, 2009

A community skirmish reminiscent of the recent “manifestogate” has apparently erupted around the McKinsey & Co. report “Clearing the air on cloud computing“. Booz Allen Hamilton Principals Mike Cameron and…

Oracle Buys Sun!!

By G C Network | April 20, 2009

Swooping in from nowhere, Oracle buys Sun for $7.4B!! “This morning, the companies announced that they’d struck a deal worth $7.4 billion or $5.6 billion net of Sun’s cash and…

Aneesh Chopra Nominated For Federal CTO

By G C Network | April 20, 2009

Although Aneesh Chopra is a new name for most, he is well know in Virginia as Governor Tim Kaine’s Secretary of Technology. For the Commonwealth, he was charged with leading…

Could Cloud Computing Cost More?

By G C Network | April 16, 2009

In a recent conference, analyst William Forrest says that large companies could end up paying more than twice as much by using cloud based services. According to a Forbes.com report,…

Cisco’s Cloud Computing Strategy

By G C Network | April 10, 2009

A couple of weeks ago, Krishna Sankar provided a glimpse into Cisco’s cloud computing strategy in a presentation titled “A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Inter-Cloud” . The presentation outlined the…

NCOIC and Cloud Computing: An Update

By G C Network | April 8, 2009

As the NCOIC gets it’s arms around this new paradigm, the Cloud Computing Working Group has focused on establishing a roadmap for providing value to the industry. Using the established…

SUN-IBM Talks Breakdown

By G C Network | April 6, 2009

As reported in multiple sources today, including Reuters, Sun has apparently rejected a purchase offer by IBM. “Shares of Sun Microsystems Inc tumbled 22.5 percent after it rejected a $7…

Former DoT CIO on Cloud Computing

By G C Network | April 3, 2009

Last month, former Transportation Department CIO Dan Mintz offered his views on cloud computing to Eric Chabrow, Managing Editor of Government Information Security. According to Mr. Mintz, there is currently…

Bob Gourley, Crucial Point CTO and former DIA CTO, just posted  Cloud Computing and Net Centric Operations on his website CTOvision . In it he outlines how the OSD and ASD NII strategy to enable net-centric operations has benefited from the advent of cloud computing. Of particular note is his list of key principles for OSD implementation of cloud computing:
  • The importance of mission-focused engineering. This key point is already embodied in the ASD NII Strategic Plan, but is worth restating to keep it at the forefront of all IT discussions in the department.
  • The continual need for security, including data confidentiality, integrity and availability. All DoD computing approaches must be engineered to be in total consonance with DoD guidelines to assure DoD information, information systems and information infrastructure. Cloud Computing, when engineered right, makes dramatic, positive changes to the mission assurance posture of DoD. Cloud computing enables stronger end point security and better data protection. It also enables the use of thin clients and the many security benefits they provide.
  • The need for always instantaneously available backup of data in the cloud. Ensured availability under all circumstances is a key benefit of smart cloud computing approaches.
  • The continual need for open source and open standards. Most cloud infrastructure today is based on open source (Linux, Solaris, MySQL, Glassfish, Hadoop) and this positive trend will help in net centric approaches. According to the IDC Group, open source software (OSS) is “the most significant, all-encompassing and long-term trend that the software industry has seen since the early 1980’s” Gartner projects that by 2012, 90 percent of the world’s companies will be using open source software. This all indicates open source and open standards should be a key principle for DoD cloud computing and other net centric approaches.
  • The continual need to evaluate both low barrier to entry and low barrier to exit. As approaches to cloud computing are evaluated, too frequently the cost of exiting an approach is not considered, resulting in lock-in into a capability that may soon be inefficient. Cloud computing capabilities should be adopted that do not result in lock-in.
  • The need for open standards. Cloud computing contributions to net centric operations increase interoperability as the code, API’s and interfaces for cloud computing are secure but are widely published for all participants to interface with. OSD involvement in open source and open standards communities should continue and be accelerated, since increasingly cloud computing open standards are being discussed and designed by open standards bodies like W3C, OASIS, IETF and the Liberty Alliance. Document and other formats used by OSD cloud computing activities will be open and available for all authorized users on all devices.
  • The need to understand the cost of “private clouds”. For at least the near term, DoD will remain a provider of “private cloud” capabilities where security dictates ownership levels of control over compute power. This fact means DoD must continually engineer for change and technology insertion, which underscores the need for low barriers to exist in design criteria.
I hope that our decision makers heed his wise council.
Follow me at https://Twitter.com/Kevin_Jackson

G C Network

1 Comments

  1. Anonymous on April 30, 2009 at 2:02 am

    ^^Thanks!!

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