Move to cloud computing is worth growing pains

Cloud computing is all the rage. However do we actually understand what it is and how it works, especially as it relates to public-sector financial management?

Not to be left behind, the federal government is planning to move to cloud computing. Its 25-point implementation plan to reform federal information technology obviously includes cloud computing.

Background on the concept

A background on the concept would help, especially for those of us whose world involves accounting transactions, accounts receivable, payables and such. On Wikipedia, you will find this definition: Cloud computing refers to the provision of computational resources on demand via a computer network.

In the traditional model of computing, both data and software are fully contained on the user's computer. In cloud computing, the user's computer may contain nearly no software or data ... serving as little more than a display terminal for processes occurring on a network of computers far away.

The government's plan calls for agencies to identify three "must move" services, create a plan for migration to cloud solutions and retire legacy systems. One of the services must be migrated by this month and the remaining two by June. The government plans to embrace the software-as-a-service model, and has established groups to develop functional and technical requirements for a government-wide cloud solution.

Security concerns will continue to pose challenges for federal IT managers, and the move to the cloud will be no different. Questions about access to sensitive government data and unauthorized breaches into federal systems surround the debate over cloud computing. According to a panel of federal innovation leaders that convened in early May, the greatest hurdle to moving data and programs to the cloud is federal executives' confidence in outside security systems.

It appears that cloud computing is here to stay. And it is clear that it makes overall good business sense for the federal government to adopt proven best practices from the commercial world.