Aug 24, 2011

Vanessa Payne

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“Cloud First” Strategy – Opportunities and Improvements for You

What’s been your experience with cloud computing – at your own organization or when interacting with GSA?  Was GSA’s May 2011 request for bids from industry for secure, cost-efficient cloud-based email solutions the opportunity you’ve been waiting for to enter the federal market?

The U.S. General Services Administration is the first federal agency to successfully migrate its employees to a cloud-based email service using Google Apps for Government. GSA’s successful transition is the first step in their effort to provide cloud email as a service option to other federal agencies (Source: The GSA Blog, July 26th, 2011)

Cloud IT systems help streamline agency operations, reduces inefficiencies, and free resources for other essential programs.  The Obama Administration’s ‘cloud first’ strategy has challenged federal agencies across government to close the information technology gap with the private sector by identifying and migrating three IT capabilities to the cloud within 18 months. Already, 15 agencies have identified 950,000 e-mail boxes across 100 email systems that are going to move to the cloud.

GSA expects that using a cloud-based system will reduce email operation costs by 50 percent over the next five years and save more than $15.2 million for the agency in that time. In addition to the cost saving benefits, the new email environment provides GSA with a suite of services including email and collaboration tools that Martha Johnson, GSA Administrator believes will “help GSA employees become a more mobile and more efficient workforce.”  Additionally, “as the federal government’s workplace solutions expert”, GSA envisions that its contracting knowledge, cloud email experience and customer-focused expertise, will allow its agency to help other agencies transition to the cloud.

Looking to learn more about Cloud Computing?Check out Aronson previous blog postings including a seven-part whitepaper series to help you understand what cloud computing is and what it can do for your company.  Guest bloggers, Jay Ethridge and Joe Jezior of Technology & Business Solutions (TBS) defined the cloud and discussed its benefits, why companies of all sizes, including Google, Microsoft and the Federal Government, are embracing it, and how you can leverage this technology at your firm:

• What You Need to Know About Clouds
• Understanding Cloud Computing Part 1: What’s Best for Your Enterprise?