The Cloud: Two-Year Review
The federal government spends more than $80 billion each year on information technology. In 2010, the federal chief information officer issued guidance to government agencies requiring them to adopt cloud computing tools when replacing systems, and to move at least three existing services to the cloud. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued the 25 Point Implementation Plan to Reform Federal Information Technology Management (25-Point Plan), also in 2010, which required agencies to consider cloud computing options for all new IT acquisitions.
Two years ago, the federal government was expected to spend a total of $11.2 billion on cloud computing between 2012 and 2017. On July 11, 2012, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on the expansion of cloud services across several federal agencies. While the report found some progress had been made, the GAO also cited several roadblocks to full implementation and adoption. The challenges included meeting federal security requirements, obtaining guidance on deployment, acquiring internal cloud knowledge and expertise, certifying and accrediting vendors, ensuring data portability and interoperability, overcoming cultural barriers, and procuring services on a consumption or on-demand basis.
On September 25, 2014, GAO released an update to its 2012 findings. The federal government had expanded the number of cloud computer services from 21 to 101; increased spending from $307 million in 2012 to $529 million in 2014; and, reported a collective cost savings of $96 million from the implementation of 22 of the 101 cloud services. GAO reported that agencies failed to implement cloud services for about 67 percent of their investments. These were legacy investments that agencies are not currently planning to modernize or replace. GAO noted that this is inconsistent with OMB policies calling for cloud solutions to be considered regardless of where a legacy system is in its life-cycle.
GAO found that some challenges to adopting cloud services cited in the 2012 report are still causing problems, including meeting federal security requirements when services are relocated to the cloud, and adapting to a new operational environment when moving management of servers and software offsite. New challenges identified by GAO include meeting new network infrastructure requirements, having appropriate expertise for acquisition processes, and, funding for implementation. GAO recommended that agencies review the IT investments it noted had not yet been evaluated for transition to the cloud to determine whether or not they are suitable for transition.
On February 24, 2014, the House passed H.R. 1232, the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA). Similar language was also included by the House in H.R. 4435, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015. FITARA would have a far-reaching impact on the development of a robust IT acquisition work force. The bill reforms the IT acquisition process and makes federal agencies more responsible for its IT inventory, including software assets. H.R. 1232 acknowledges the potential benefits of cloud computing, and permits each agency to establish cloud services working capital funds to encourage greater adoption of cloud computing services. Both H.R. 1232 and H.R. 4435 are currently awaiting action in the Senate.
Federal IT will continue to transform as agency CIOs find more ways to use cloud computing and enhance their systems with new technologies. Much work still needs to be done in order to address ongoing security concerns and avoid the creation of duplicative systems. In addition, federal CIOs must take steps to assure the federal IT workforce that the information they will be storing remotely in the cloud will be secure. Finally, the appropriate budget tools must be used to obtain the greatest savings possible from the cloud. Taxpayers will then be able to reap the full savings of moving federal IT to the cloud.
