Government IT departments could be set for a move to the cloud
18 May 2011 08:23:04
Like many large organizations, cloud computing offers enticing upsides to government departments that can leverage its advantages in flexibility and cost-efficiency, Govtech.com wrote recently.
However, there are undoubted complications, the news source's Steve Towns wrote.
"Like any other large-scale deployment, moving hundreds or thousands of users to cloud-based applications demands careful attention to change management, IT governance and other bread-and-butter project management issues," he said.
For healthcare organizations in particular, Govtech said, the cloud offers the hope of badly needed efficiencies in record-keeping and cost reduction. Coming hand in hand with those advantages, however, are cloud security issues that must be addressed if the system is to comply with legal requirements for patient data confidentiality.
Nevertheless, aggressive efforts by President Barack Obama's administration have been pursued since the beginning of his term in office, with federal CIO Vivek Kundra spearheading several initiatives to trim waste and update government computer systems to take advantage of modern technology like cloud computing. The government has also pursued extensive cyber security initiatives aimed at both the public and private sectors.
-McAfee Cloud Security
