Cloud Services Procurement Must Be Improved

As federal agencies continue to modernize technology and adopt artificial intelligence, cloud services are essential to making these efforts efficient and cost-effective.  A June 23, 2026, Government Accountability Office (GAO) report noted, “agencies need to maximize the impact of taxpayer dollars and make procurement decisions that deliver on their missions securely and reliably.  These investments also have the potential to make agencies more efficient in fulfilling their missions by reducing costs and improving operational efficiencies.”

But achieving that objective continues to face impediments.  GAO has included information technology (IT) acquisitions, which includes acquiring cloud services, on its high-risk list since 2015.  The GAO report found that control of cloud costs requires changes in IT management approaches and that there are conflicts in Office of Management and Budget and National Institute of Standards and Technology software guidance that are causing confusion.  Outdated Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) impeded cloud procurements; agencies encountered difficulties in obtaining authorized cloud solutions; multi-vendor cloud adoption faced new technical considerations like interoperability; and resource constraints hindered cloud workforce acquisition.

In 2011, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) issued its first of three reports on the need for government agencies to adopt cloud computing services to save taxpayer dollars and leverage the efficiencies of scaled technology.

In 2012, General Services Administration began its Joint Authorization Board to provide provisional approvals of cloud security authorizations.  The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) certification process established a standard cloud computing products and services procurement system across the federal government.

GAO recommended that Congress review the FAR and update cloud-related definitions.  GAO also recommended that GSA, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Chief Information Officer Council “address cloud cost management practices, conflicting cloud guidance, and multi-vendor cloud solutions.”  If Congress and these federal agencies make the necessary recommended changes, acquiring cloud services for federal agencies should be more efficient.