Government could save billions with cloud computing

“Cash for Clunkers” Should Have Used the Cloud!

By G C Network | August 24, 2009

Rich Bruklis wrote an excellent essy on how the government missed a perfect opportunity to use cloud computing. In “Cloud Opportunity Missed” he writes: “It appears that the voucher system…

US Navy Experiments With Secure Cloud Computing

By G C Network | August 20, 2009

This week in San Diego, CA the US Navy held the initial planning conference for Trident Warrior ’10. The Trident Warrior series is the premier annual FORCEnet Sea Trial Event…

GSA To Present On Cloud Initiative at NCOIC Plenary

By G C Network | August 13, 2009

A General Services Administration (GSA) representative is now scheduled to provide a briefing on the agency’s cloud computing initiative during a “Best Practices for Cloud Initiatives using Storefronts” session on…

FAA CIO Focuses on Cybersecurity

By G C Network | August 12, 2009

During this week Federal Executive Forum, FAA CIO Dave Bowen mentioned protection against software vulnerabilities, wireless intrusion and website vulnerabilities as his top cybersecurity priorities. As the Assistant Administrator for…

DHS Asst. Secretary Addresses Cybersecurity Priorities

By G C Network | August 11, 2009

Greg Schaffer, Assistant Secretary for CyberSecurity & Communications for the US Department of Homeland Security, sees Trusted Internet Connections, EINSTEIN, and front line defense of the nation’s networks as top…

US DoD Chief Security Officer on Cybersecurity Priorities

By G C Network | August 10, 2009

In a Federal Executive Forum interview, Robert Lentz, Chief Security Officer for the US Department of Defense, highlighted the departments cybersecurity priorities. Mr. Lentz is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of…

Twitter Under Denial of Service Attack

By G C Network | August 6, 2009

Multiple sources are reporting that Twitter continues to be under a denial of service attack. Some are speculating that this represents the power of a coordinated bot network attack. For…

NCOIC Holding Full Day Cloud Computing Session

By G C Network | August 5, 2009

The Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium (NCOIC) will be holding a one-day cloud computing session during its plenary meetings, 21-25 September at the Fair Lakes Hyatt in Fairfax, VA. A…

Sevatec a New Player in the Federal Cloud Computing Market

By G C Network | August 3, 2009

Just in time for the new Federal Cloud Computing Storefront, Sevatec, Inc. is announcing the development of a toolkit to help federal agencies transform their enterprise architectures to cloud computing…

GSA Releases Cloud Computing RFQ

By G C Network | July 31, 2009

Following through on a much anticipated action, GSA released their Cloud Computing Request For Quotation (RFQ) today. Cloud computing is a major part of President Obama’s reform effort and this…

In a recent study, published by MeriTalk, Red Hat and DLT Solutions, the Federal government could save $6.6 billion by using cloud computing or software-as-a-service.

“Looking at 30 federal agencies, the study assumes every agency is starting from scratch with new technology. So instead of buying new software, agencies could save money using open-source instead of proprietary software, virtualization technologies instead of new servers, and cloud computing instead of buying software and hardware.

The numbers are based on federal agency budgets, using assumptions from other studies about federal computing resources.”

Peter Tseronis, deputy associate chief information officer for the US Department of Energy commented on the study saying that even though critics may be able to quibble with the numbers, the big message is that federal agencies should be looking at new ways to save money with IT investments.

My personal recommendation to those agencies considering cloud computing solutions would be for them to send a representative to play in the Cloud Computing Wargame at this year’s FOSE 2009 convention. This not only presents information on the technology, but it also provides a “no risk” means of comparing cloud computing options to more traditional IT approaches.

Reservations are required to participate in the wargame. Online registration is available or you can contact the registrar at 800-746-0099 or by email at [email protected]. There will also be a Cloud Computing Capstone Event on Wednesday, March 11th from 4:30-5:30 pm. The Capstone Event will feature a panel discussion announcement of wargame winners and review of lessons learned.

Space is limited so please make your reservations today. Wargame session schedule is listed below.

Tuesday March 10th

  • Session 1: 10:30 – 12:00
  • Session 2: 12:30 – 2:00
  • Session 3: 2:30 – 4:00

Wednesday March 11th

  • Session 1: 10:30 – 12:00 (DoD Theme)
  • Session 2: 12:30 – 2:00 (Intel Theme)
  • Session 3: 2:30 – 4:00 (Civil & Healthcare Theme)

Thursday March 12th

  • Session 1: 10:30 – 12:00
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