Feb 04
2010
State Governments and IT; Cloud Computing and Government
State Governments Anticipate Replacing or Installing Software
Good news for BasicGov to hear that 36% of IT decision-makers in state government anticipate an increase in their IT budgets in the next six months, up 2% since June. And even better news for BasicGov, 75% of IT decision makers at state government organizations anticipate replacing or installing software in the next six months. (sources Govtech, CDW).
IT and Cloud Computing
A Gartner survey indicates IT budgets are including cloud computing (39% of respondents). This survey, Cloud-Computing Budgets Are Growing and Shifting, was conducted between April and July among 1,587 IT budget management professionals in 40 countries with 484 respondents. (source: ITPro)
Earlier this year, Federal Chief Information Security Office Vivek Kundra put out a report about cloud computing. It defines cloud computing (see below also) and describes the federal government approach and includes 30 case studies. The case studies provide real examples of cloud computing projects. Download report.
Cloud computing defined in Vivek Kundra’s report:
Economical. Cloud computing is a pay-as-you-go approach to IT, in which a low initial investment is required to get going. Additional investment is incurred as system use increases and costs can decrease if usage decreases. In this way, cash flows better match total system cost.
Flexible. IT departments that anticipate fluctuations in user load do not have to scramble to secure additional hardware and software. With cloud computing, they can add and subtract capacity as its network load dictates, and pay only for what they use.
Rapid Implementation. Without the need to go through the procurement and certification processes, and with a near-limitless selection of services, tools, and features, cloud computing helps projects get off the ground in record time.
Consistent Service. Network outages can send an IT department scrambling for answers. Cloud computing can offer a higher level of service and reliability, and an immediate response to emergency situations.
Increased Effectiveness. Cloud computing frees the user from the finer details of IT system configuration and maintenance, enabling them to spend more time on mission-critical tasks and less time on IT operations and maintenance.
Energy Efficient. Because resources are pooled, each user community does not need to have its own dedicated IT infrastructure. Several groups can share computing resources, leading to higher utilization rates, fewer servers, and less energy consumption.
