Recently the U.S. Government released a document called Federal Cloud Computing Strategy as part of the administrations Cloud First initiative, which requires agencies to evaluate safe, secure cloud computing options prior to making any new investments in IT. The government intends to spend one quarter of its entire IT budget, that’s $20 billion, on cloud computing.
The paper is geared for government, but it offers interesting insights into what you might take into account if you’re considering migrating critical data to the cloud. You can download the document here (www.cio.gov/documents/Federal-Cloud-Computing-Strategy.pdf). Scroll to page 11 to see a helpful decision framework.
What’s interesting about this initiative is that it likely means the end of the discussion about “is the cloud safe enough for critical data”? If the cloud is safe enough for the feds, it’s safe enough for us – even those of us with stringent compliance requirements. If your wondering if it really is safe enough for you, consider that cloud providers are in development overdrive to snag a piece of the $20 billion up for grabs. The cloud is about to get a whole lot better. Here are some changes you can expect:
- Increased infrastructure
- Lower pricing
- Efficiency improvements
- Enhanced security
- Compliance compatible
- Agility improvements
- Innovation improvements
Last year most industry experts would tell you that the cloud was great for non-critical data. Some may have ventured that the cloud was a trend that would never be safe enough for data that had to be kept secure and private. This year, with the American government leading the charge, 2012 could very well be the year the world shifts – to the cloud.
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