The inherent scalability of the systems

One element of cloud computing that holds great promise for federal agencies is the inherent scalability of the systems. Cloud platform providers absorb all the investment risk in assembling huge IT capacity and at the time manage that capacity so as to provide ample reserves for all users, similar to the load and distribution management of an electric utility.

Independent basis

Government information innovation procurement has been largely conducted on an independent basis, with each federal agency determining its own needs and acquiring the infrastructure -- both hardware and software -- to meet those needs. Nevertheless, the procurement landscape may change significantly with the latest breakthrough in IT -- cloud computing.

Cloud research, it seems, has appeared on the horizon at just the right time. In challenging economic times, and with intense scrutiny of federal budgets, IT expenditures are being closely monitored. The Obama administration's directive that in substance freezes domestic spending is putting pressure on federal agencies to meet growing constituency obligations during keeping expenses in accordance with control.

In addition, cloud computing has the potential for significantly enhancing IT performance within federal agencies -- not only to streamline internal operations, now also to vastly improve the way these agencies serve the public.

US Interior Department: Interior has 80,000 email users widely dispersed around the country and is pursuing a Software as a Service cloud-computing model. Currently, DoI uses more than a dozen different email systems. DoI determined that a single infrastructure would reduce complexity and improve the level of service when it decided to analyze cloud-based solutions. The analysis was compelling: By implementing email using an external commercial SaaS model, DoI found it could provide improved service to its 80,000 users and save 67 percent of its current costs. DoI expects to complete the conversion in fiscal year 2011.

The inherent scalability of the systems

One element of cloud computing that holds great promise for federal agencies is the inherent scalability of the systems. Cloud platform providers absorb all the investment risk in assembling huge IT capacity and at the time manage that capacity so as to provide ample reserves for all users, similar to the load and distribution management of an electric utility. In this way, when a user needs to scale up quickly, the reserve capacity becomes available. For many federal agencies, better reserve management can yield huge savings.

"Some federal agencies were overinvesting in IT capacity because they never knew when a big surge in demand might come, and they wanted a buffer, now as a result, they on the whole operated at less than 20 percent of capacity," Darrell West, director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution, told the E-Commerce Times. West authored a Brookings study of the federal cloud computing situation that was issued in April.

One of the chief proponents of cloud innovation is Vivek Kundra, the federal chief information officer. Kundra has directed the federal government's cloud computing initiative since its launch in September 2009.

July hearing conducted

At a July hearing conducted by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Kundra told lawmakers that the government often mismanages IT investment and deployment. He outlined several corrective measures being taken to improve IT performance. Noting the freeze on federal spending, Kundra described the huge potential for efficiency in cloud innovation.

"Government wide implementation of cloud computing will be a decade-long journey," Towns noted, adding that he hopes the federal government's venture into the cloud is "so then thought out, that the benefits and risks are fully examined, and that there are comprehensive plans in place to ensure that we do this the right way, the first time."