Catch the Cloud with DorobekINSIDER LIVE!

Thank You GetVoIP!!

By G C Network | April 25, 2014

Thank you for the honor of being named a “Top 100 Cloud Professionals to Follow on G+”! Congratulations also to my 99 colleagues.  Read more at: ↑ Grab this Headline…

Facilitators Announced For NGA Agile Cloud Brainstorming Event

By G C Network | April 14, 2014

The Information Technology Acquisition Advisory Council (ITAAC) and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) are announcing a slate of innovative leaders to serve as facilitators for the upcoming  “Agile Sourcing Environment…

MBO Partners Spotlights GovCloud Founder Kevin L. Jackson

By G C Network | April 6, 2014

Associate Spotlight Interview with Kevin L. JacksonMBO Associate Since 10/2013 1)    Tell us a little bit about what you do.I am the CEO and founder of GovCloud Network, LLC. In…

ITAAC/ICH and TIA To Host Commercial Cloud Sourcing Brainstorming Session for NGA

By G C Network | April 1, 2014

The Information Technology Acquisition Advisory Council (ITAAC) and Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) are honored to team with NGA in hosting the first “Agile Sourcing Environment for Commercial Cloud” brainstorming session,…

Author and Tech Strategist Melvin Greer Profiled by WashingtonExec

By G C Network | March 17, 2014

Congratulations to my NCOIC colleague and dear friend Melvin Greer on his impressive WashingtonExec interview. A senior fellow and chief strategist at Lockheed Martin, Mel has more than 29 years’…

IT Risk Management Summit – March 26, 2013 – Reston, VA

By G C Network | March 12, 2014

In response to growing demand for formal software risk and quality management tools, the nations’ most respected standards bodies and IT communities of practice have joined forces to advance the…

PerspecSys Survey Reveals Cloud-based Security Concerns for 2014

By G C Network | March 10, 2014

Today PerspecSys announced the results of a survey conducted at the 2014 RSA Conference concerning the attitudes and policies of organizations towards cloud-based security. After polling 130 security professionals on…

NCOIC Debuts Roadmap for Designing, Managing Cyber-secure Hybrid Computing Environment

By G C Network | March 5, 2014

Open process by the Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium uses cloud infrastructure to cut computing costs in half and enable collaboration by different systems and users WASHINGTON—March 5, 2014—The Network…

Why State & Local Governments Should be Prepared for Cloud

By G C Network | February 17, 2014

You are invited to attend the Cloud Webinar Series: Why State & Local Governments Should be Prepared for Cloud. This educational webinar is brought to you by RISC Networks, and…

IBM Hybrid Cloud Debate: Experts debate: Are Hybrid Clouds the End All Be All?

By G C Network | February 12, 2014

A hybrid cloud may become the solution as the debate between public vs private cloud becomes so 2013. The industry’s experts will debate on when the hybrid clouds are and…

 

Yesterday I thoroughly enjoyed an opportunity to participate in the DorobekINSIDER LIVE edition on cloud computing.  The conversation was both lively and informative.  Joining me on the show were:

Emily Jarvis

In partnership with GovLoop, the Knowledge Network for Government”, Chris Dorobek and Emily Jarvis get smart people together in order to share ideas because they believe that the real power of information comes when it is shared.

This event was the ninth edition of DorobekINSIDER Live and the focus was looking at the progress agencies have made in moving to the cloud.

Some of the key points addressed include:

Why Does Cloud Matter?
Sweeney: I’ve read so many cases studies that feature government at all levels using cloud to improve their efficiency and speed. Take the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board for example. Cloud is important because it shows the shift from products to services.
Jackson: What is really different about cloud computing is it changes the way we deal with IT. Cloud is:
  1. Agile: the cloud should be reevaluated and changed every day, week, month or year. It is not a static product.
  2. Efficient: the cloud is efficient because you can apply parallel processes.
  3. Global: by nature cloud is a global enterprise.
“Cloud computing is a new business model. It is driving the cultural change in government to a service management mindset,” said Jackson. “CIOs have to not only have the technical capabilities but they also have to know how to manage financial disclosures in the cloud, know how to change to a new provider and re-deploy data to the cloud. Federal CIOs Vivek Kundra and Steven VanRoekel with their Cloud First and Share First policies are really driving the need to reduce costs and increase efficiency in the cloud. It is not about if agencies will go to the cloud, but how.”
Do more with less with cloud?
Sweeney: Do more with nothing is more like it. The do more with less saying has been the mantra for IT shops for a long time. But by using cloud IT departments don’t have to reinvent the wheel each time. So it saves time and money.
Jackson: I think although time and money are huge factors the other big development with cloud was seeing how it impacts the mission. How by using cloud services agencies could show increased deliverables on mission. The issue comes in the form of procurement. How do you change the policies on IT contracts? This is all new and the policies need to be changed and modified. Cloud procurement is a 180 degree shift from the waterfall acquisition approach.
Sweeney: New providers are coming into the market and taking major contracts away from traditional providers. The question is now, how can we become more rapid while still be secure? Agencies that are using cloud to build-up that security are the real winners.
Changing role of the CIO?
Sweeney: If CIOs don’t evolve and embrace cloud technologies their employees will go around them. Take the Dropbox example. Dropbox is technically verboten at agencies, but all the employees use it. They want to be able to access documents anywhere on any device. People say if IT won’t provide me with a solution I will go around you. That is dangerous for an organization.
Jackson: This phenomenon is called shadow IT. People have a real desire to solve problems and if policies are too slow, they find alternative ways to get it done.
Listen to the full show below!

Bookmark and Share

Cloud Musings on Forbes
( Thank you. If you enjoyed this article, get free updates by email or RSS – © Copyright Kevin L. Jackson 2012)

Follow me at https://Twitter.com/Kevin_Jackson
Posted in

G C Network