Cloud Computing Cuts $5.5 Billion Annually from Federal Budget

Study: Cloud Computing Cuts $5.5 Billion Annually from Federal BudgetThe federal government saved near $5.5 billion a year by moving to cloud services. However it might have saved up to $12 billion if cloud strategies were more aggressive, a survey of federal IT managers found.

The study, drawn from interviews with 108 federal CIOs and IT managers, was published by MeriTalk Cloud Computing Exchange, a community of federal government leaders focused on public-private collaboration in Washington, D.C.

The IT managers surveyed as well reported spending 11 percent of their current, fiscal year 2013 budgets, or $8.7 billion, on cloud computing.

Seeing the Cloud Through the Lens of ValueEnterprises that look at the cloud only through the lens of research will be left behind by more agile competitors that use the cloud to develop innovative new business models based on faster time-to-market, new modes of customer interaction and more efficient operating models, according to Mike Pearl of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Pearl, a partner and cloud computing leader at PwC, offered his take on cloud computing in a column on Forbes.com, and made a strong case regarding the business value of implementing a cloud strategy.

Solid cloud business platform

With a solid cloud business platform, companies will be better positioned to innovate around new products and services to generate additional sources of revenue, he said. For instance, many new online media broadcasting offerings use innovative video interfaces over high-speed broadband developed within a cloud environment to create new business models.

"Far from being the latest research craze, cloud computing should be regarded as a strategic asset that helps organizations transform their business models by creating new products and services and new modes of engagement among employees and with clients," Pearl wrote.

Cloud Computing Benefits Charity IT InfrastructureCloud computing allows charities to scale up their IT infrastructure in times of peak demand, such as while Sport Relief, one of the U.K.'s biggest fundraising events, according to The Guardian.

Rather than having a room full of servers that go unused for more than 300 days of the year, cloud computing offers the possibility to scale-up capacity when needed.