Tech America and INSA Form Cloud Computing Advisory Groups

Last week TechAmerica announced the formation of a “cloud computing commission” to advise the White House on the current plans to steer more than $20B worth of IT services toward the cloud computing model. Co-chaired by Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff and VCE CEO Michael Capellas, the commission will provide recommendations for how agencies should roll out cloud technologies and suggest changes to policies that might hinder attainment of the government’s goals.

While I applaud Tech America’s efforts to help the government manage this important transition, my personal interest is more focused on the work being led by Bob Gourley at the Intelligence and National Security Alliance. The INSA Cloud Computing Task Force, as an element of the INSA Cyber Security Council, will focus on ways to enhance adoption of cloud computing for national security missions. According to the email announcing the formation of this group:

“ INSA members have been working closely with federal thought leaders to help refine Cloud Computing constructs. We see a need for more cross-discipline, cross-functional information exchange on this topic with a goal of providing actionable optimization ideas for federal decision-makers. Our second goal is to provide INSA members with a more in depth understanding of the special mission needs of national security agencies regarding cloud computing. Finally, a third goal is to examine emerging trends in cloud computing, resulting in an enhanced understanding of technologies driving public and private clouds.”

I am personally involved in the INSA cloud activities and also hope to have an opportunity to support the TechAmerica efforts as well. If you are also interested in shaping government cloud computing, I also urge your participation in these important efforts..

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