Cloud Acquisition Strategy, Customized to the Right Cloud Model

March 17, 2015 / G C Network / Comments Off

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Why the Cloud? Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination

By G C Network | October 23, 2008

So why is the intelligence community so interested in cloud computing? Three letters: PED (Processing, Exploitation, Dissemination). Take these two real life examples from the publishing industry. Jim Staten of…

World Summit of Cloud Computing: “Enterprise Cloud Computing” work group

By G C Network | October 22, 2008

To leverage attendees of the World Summit of Cloud Computing, a kick-off meeting of the “Enterprise Cloud Computing” work group will be held near Tel Aviv, Israel on December 3,…

Cloud Package Management

By G C Network | October 21, 2008

In his post “Missing in the Cloud: package management“, Dave Rosenberg highlights a critical issue in the adoption of cloud computing by government agencies. “I dare say that a standard…

PlugIntoTheCloud.com

By G C Network | October 20, 2008

Information Week has just launched PlugIntoTheCloud.com as their cloud computing destination. In his Non Linear Thinking blog, Bill Martin calls it a movement aimed at “providing a source and forum…

Is the cloud computing hype bad?

By G C Network | October 17, 2008

From Gartner “Why a little cloud hype might be useful“: “It’s too simplistic to say cloud hype is bad . If we are technically expert is might irritate us with…

Stop the FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) !!

By G C Network | October 16, 2008

Dan Morrill! Count me in !! In his excellent article, “Cloud Computing is Scary – But the FUD Has to Stop“, Dan makes some excellent points: It is time to…

IBM, Microsoft and Google

By G C Network | October 15, 2008

On October 6th, IBM launched their cloud services initiative. This is a: “[C]ompany-wide initiative that extends its traditional software delivery model toward a mix of on-premise and cloud computing applications…

Government in the Cloud

By G C Network | October 13, 2008

Back in mid-September, there was quite a thread in the Google Cloud Computing Group on the use of cloud computing by the federal government. Some of the interesting comments were:…

CloudCamp Partners With SOA-R !!

By G C Network | October 10, 2008

I’m proud to announce that the final SOA-R Cloud Computing Education Event will be held in collaboration with CloudCamp. Now dubbed CloudCamp:Federal, the event will be held as an “unconference” to help…

Federal Cloud Computing Wiki

By G C Network | October 9, 2008

With the fast growing interest in cloud computing, the Federal Government community has established a Federal Cloud Computing Wiki. This wiki is managed by Dr. Brand Niemann, Senior Enterprise Architect…

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Melvin Greer

Managing Director, Greer Institute

This year has brought big news, significant changes and increased awareness of the adoption of cloud computing in Government. In fact Cloud computing may be the biggest and most overhyped term in Government information technology today. It is also the most discussed topic in agency strategy, cyber security forums and mission / program reviews. While lots of conversation has been devoted to technology and the benefits that government customers can derive from Cloud, in the end the biggest challenge may be the acquisition of cloud services. Cloud computing presents a different set of acquisition challenges to the federal government and this shift requires a rethinking the agency acquisition process. Smart purchasing decisions require an understanding of security requirements, service models and service level agreements.

Clearly adherence to the Federal Risk Authorization and Risk Management (FedRAMP) cloud security requirements are central to acquisition of cloud services. This includes issues like data location and jurisdiction, privacy, and eDiscovery, as they are very important in a service-based environment.

An enhanced view of cloud acquisition involves the mapping of the right acquisition strategy with the right cloud deployment model. The dominant cloud deployment model in Government is the hybrid cloud model. Given that agencies will not likely limit themselves to one cloud deployment but will rather incorporate different and overlapping cloud services the acquisition strategy for the hybrid model will need to provide the flexibility necessary to map to the varying deployment models.

By focusing on a customized acquisition strategy in contracting for cloud services, agencies can reduce the risk of vendor lock-in, improve portability, and encourage competition. With these goals in mind, agencies will want to establish explicit Service Level Agreement (SLA) information for security, continuity of operations, and service quality and the impact on the cloud service provider of not meeting SLA metrics.

By developing a cloud acquisition strategy that comprehends security requirements, service models and service level agreement metrics, agencies can acquire the benefits of cloud adoption required to meet their mission needs. Learn more about the acquisition of Cloud in the ViON eBook, “The Business of Cloud”

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( This content is being syndicated through multiple channels. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of GovCloud Network, GovCloud Network Partners or any other corporation or organization.)