Microsoft officials revealed Thursday that the company is planning to develop a new dedicated multi-tenant, government community cloud computing environment.
The move is part of a broadening effort at Microsoft and its public sector division to meet emerging needs among federal agencies whose officials are trying to find faster, more economical and secure ways to migrate parts of their computing operations to the cloud. Keep reading →
Federal technology managers foresee the use of tablet mobile computing devices by agency employees will nearly triple over the next two years, from 7% of employees in 2011 to 19% by 2013, and that smartphone use will increase from 35% to 43% of employees over the same period, as agencies look for alternatives to desktop PCs, according to a new survey. Keep reading →
Not only has cybersecurity started to take shape legislatively, cloud computing security has started to take shape administratively in a meaningful way.
You won’t find huge surprises in the grandly named Concept of Operations (CONOPS) for the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, or FedRAMP. The 47-page document does fill out the plan, long promised by The Office of Management and Budget and the General Services Administration. What might be surprising is how elaborate the procedures and project plan turn out to be. Keep reading →
Imagine a government as efficient as the highest-performing private sector companies, delivering critical services to millions across the nation. CIOs and citizens alike want and expect this type of government. Cloud computing is at the heart of government’s potential to achieve significant operational efficiencies, and the speed at which cloud platforms are deployed is a big reason why.
Without IT infrastructure, cloud computing makes it possible to deploy new systems, applications, platforms and more at previously unheard of rates. Instead of months and years, it can take as little as a few weeks to launch effective cloud applications. Keep reading →
Federal spending on information technology is scheduled to decrease by 1.2%, or about $586 million, in the next fiscal year, according to the president’s fiscal year 2013 budget, with most of the reduction coming from cuts in the Department of Defense. Keep reading →
For a number of years, there has been a certain relationship between different segments of the federal information technology market. But those relationships are changing as agencies have had to come to grips with stark new budget constraints, which are expected to be reflected in the new federal budget being released by the White House today.
Those changes are already having an important implications for the companies competing for federal IT contracts as well as for the federal and military leaders responsible for acquiring and operating the IT technologies that support their civil and military agency mission requirements.
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This article was adapted from introductory remarks made Feb. 13 at the 25th Annual Federal Networks by conference chairman, Warren Suss, president of Suss Consulting. For more news and insights on innovations at work in government, please sign up for the AOL Gov newsletter. For the quickest updates, follow us on Twitter @AOLgov.
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The General Services Administration, which issued operating plans Tuesday for securing and monitoring cloud computing systems in the government, released a slide presentation and comments earlier today, explaining how the program will work. The information, captured during a presentation with reporters, was made available in the form of a video presentation released on YouTube.
The new program is known as the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, or FedRAMP. The program is part of a coordinated governmentwide effort to simplify the approval process for Web-based cloud computing services. Keep reading →
AOL Government Editorial Director Wyatt Kash recently caught up with McClure, and his principal deputy, 
When it comes to keeping abreast of government IT innovation, few individuals enjoy a better perspective than Dave McClure, associate administrator for GSA’s Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies. McClure spent 14 years with the Government Accountability Office leading IT reviews — and five more years with Gartner, heading government research, before joining the General Services Administration in 2009. In addition to supporting a number of major federal IT initiatives, McClure also makes time to meet with entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley to keep his finger on the technology pulse.
The TechAmerica Foundation, which has helped define cloud computing and IT policy discussions in the public sector, announced a new leader today.
Jennifer A. Kerber, considered an expert in technology policy, was named by the Foundation’s board to be the organization’s new president. Keep reading →
The shape of things to come in government cloud computing will lie in models that are evolving on the state and local level, and may look a lot like what is taking place in Utah and Michigan, according to a new report from research group IDC Government Insights.
The era of the “server down the hall” is over, states the report. Instead, the nascent paradigm for state and local cloud computing will take the form of regional, government-to-government hubs, according to the report. An abstract of the report, entitled “Regional Community Cloud Hubs: the New ‘Trickle Down’ Effect That’s Boosting State and Local Computing” is available at no charge. Keep reading →