Peter Schooff, ebizQ editor, raised this question on the ebizQ Cloud Computing forum today.
Obviously, given my recent area of research, I think this is an excellent question and to my delight it has been matched with an equally thought-provoking discussion on the forum thus far!
For those of you who have been following me, you'll agree that I've covered a great deal on this very topic in my first and third podcasts on Cloud Computing within the Federal Government (was this a shameless plug?)
I agree with Dr. Smith (on the forum) that the government is not a profit-driven business but cost is still an issue with balooning deficits, many competing initiatives and programs for tax dollars, and our energy independence at stake with close to a billion dollar energy bill each year just for operating the government run data centers! OMB mandates and the president's budget leave no doubt that each agency is being asked to become more efficient and lower costs.
Control (privacy, security of information assets, compliance with regulations, etc.) is also a valid concern, which, as Anthony (also on the forum) pointed out, could be addressed by so called "private" clouds. Such clouds already exist such as with the National Business Center's cloud, DISA's RACE, and NASA's Nebula.
So do I believe that there is a good fit between Government and Clouds?
Absolutely!
* Originally posted on the ebizQ Cloud Computing Forum on July 6, 2010.
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