Paper Touts Benefits Of Cloud Computing To Government
April 7, 2010
| 2:52 PM
A new paper released Wednesday touts the benefits of the use of cloud computing by federal agencies, saying such services can produce significant information technology savings. Cloud computing refers to the online use of networks, servers, storage, or software applications.
In the paper, Darrell West, vice president and director of government studies at the nonpartisan think tank the Brookings Institution, said he found that agencies that have "moved to the cloud" generally enjoyed 25 percent to 50 percent savings on their IT costs. "For the federal government as a whole, this translates into billions in cost savings, depending on the scope of the transition," the paper said. The federal government spends $76 billion a year on IT products -- $20 billion for computer hardware.
Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra also discussed the benefits to the government of cloud computing during a speech at the Brookings Institution Wednesday.
"In the government, it can take years to procure, configure and deploy technology solutions," Kundra said in his prepared remarks. "By using cloud services, the federal government will gain access to powerful technology resources faster and at lower costs. This frees us to focus on mission-critical tasks instead of purchasing, configuring and maintaining redundant infrastructure."
Among the agencies currently utilizing cloud computing is the Department of Health and Human Services, which is using it to help support implementation of the electronic health records systems, Kundra said. He also noted that the Interior Department is "migrating 80,000 email boxes to the cloud."
In a policy blog post Wednesday, Google Policy Counsel Harry Wingo said his firm favors greater use of cloud computing by the federal government. "We're big believers that governments ought to make sure cloud computing is treated on a level playing field in procurement decisions, along with desktop and server-based computing," he said.
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