New federal CIO weighs in on cloud computing, federal IT
Monday, October 31, 2011 5:05:41 PM
The first federal chief information officer, Vivek Kundra, established progressive initiatives to push cloud computing adoption in the government. His Cloud First Policy instituted statutes that require all federal agencies to switch at least three of their operations to cloud computing solutions within the next two years. Additionally, the former federal CIO's policy allocate a quarter of the annual $80 billion federal IT budget to cloud computing adoption.
When Kundra stepped down from his position to return to his fellowship at Harvard University late last summer, Steven VanRoekel was marked as his replacement, and is now championing the former CIOs policies and initiatives.
InformationWeek recently published an article explaining some of the thoughts VanRoekel has established in regard to federal IT and the move to cloud computing. According to the news provider, VanRoekel asserted he would continue to push Kundra's policies, especially those regarding the consolidation of federal data centers and the rapid implementation of cloud services.
"Building on the progress of the last two-and-a-half years, my focus going forward will be to drive innovation in government and make investments in technology that better serve the American people," VanRoekel said while speaking in Silicon Valley, according to InformationWeek. "We will use technology to improve government productivity and lower barriers to citizen and business interaction with the government, all while bolstering cyber security."
The website notes that VanRoekel is avidly pushing several other policies that run parallel to those of Vivek Kundra, in an effort to create a 'blueprint' of IT service implementation practices and strategies in the government. The goal, VanRoekel affirms, is to move the federal government into a leader in progressive technology, instead of its currently slow pace.
Kundra's policies, as well as those of VanRoekel, could be considered among the most influential reasons many federal agencies and government-affiliated organizations have jumped on the opportunity to overhaul IT service strategies.
The General Services Administration announced earlier this year that it switched its entire email server to the cloud, a move it believes will lead to more than $15 million in savings within the next three years.
Additionally, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been using cloud computing services for many of its high-profile projects since 2009. Officials from the JPL have expressed success with the technology, both in respect to security and the efficacy of the services.
-McAfee Cloud Security
