Department of Defense plans to adopt cloud computing

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Although cloud computing continues to be adopted by private sector businesses of all sizes, the U.S. government also hopes to utilize the technology to update its IT infrastructure.

According to a recent announcement by the Department of Defense, agency officials are looking to branch out from the current decentralized computer network and data centers in favor of greater efficiency, effectiveness and security by adopting cloud computing.

"We must balance all three," said DoD deputy chief information officer Robert Carey. "We have to serve the information needs of our warfighters, as well as the people back here in the ivory towers."

Carey recently spoke at the Defense Systems Summit 2011 conference, asserting that budget restrictions and the need for greater efficiency are the reasons the department and other agencies are moving to the cloud.

While the DoD searches for cloud computing solutions, many agencies have already begun the process to utilize the technology to transform their operations. According to a recent study conducted by the Virginia-based IT operations company ScienceLogic, 50 percent of government agencies have migrated to cloud computing solutions.