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Central Government

US govt IT departments still confused by cloud computing

By Robin Hicks | 3 August 2009

Federal officials in the United States think that cloud computing will play a big role in future government IT initiatives. But they are still confused about what cloud computing is and want security assurances before adopting it on a large scale, a survey of federal IT managers has found.

Thirteen per cent of federal IT managers say they are using some form of cloud computing, but survey results show the true number is actually higher. For example, 44 per cent of the same federal IT managers are using cloud-based database applications and 42 per cent are using cloud-based document management applications.

For the purposes of the survey, the cloud was defined as “any private or public collection of computers, software or servers accessed over the web.” This includes public cloud services such as Google Apps, as well as private clouds built within a government agency’s firewall.

Government IT managers believe e-mail is the most likely candidate for moving to the cloud, and nearly half expect they will move procurement, ERP and CRM tools to a cloud platform in the next five years, the survey found.

When asked what benefits cloud computing will provide, more than half of federal agencies mentioned reduced hardware requirements, and 45 per cent look forward to reduced costs from the pay-as-you go model. Reduced staff requirements, flexibility, group collaboration and business continuity are other perceived benefits.

However, nearly four out of five federal IT managers cited security as a barrier to cloud computing within their agencies, and another 41 per cent said privacy is a barrier. Cost, bandwidth and performance are also concerns for some respondents.

The survey was conducted by MeriTalk, a community web site for the government IT industry; and the Merlin Federal Cloud Initiative, a group consisting of systems integrator Merlin International, NetApp, Riverbed and VMware.

The organisations surveyed 605 IT managers, about 300 of which work in the federal government.

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