Military beginning to incorporate cloud technology

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

In the fast-paced and dangerous world of military operations, effective communication and access to combat information is critical to mission success, not to mention preserving the lives of any soldiers involved. Managed service providers are beginning to develop ways for governments to incorporate cloud technology into the military, and several recent innovations are propelling the market forward.

One area where developers are focusing is mobile device management. Service providers continue to release remote infrastructure platforms that enable streaming of critical video and data to ground troops in out-of-the-way locations. Such programs are adaptable and use existing networks like 3G and WiFi to provide information security when a direct VPN does not exist.

"Today's mobile devices offer versatility and computational power that can revolutionize the battlefield," said Eli Garten, VP of Optibase Product Management at VITEC. "We are able to enhance our tactical situational awareness solutions and allow our customers to disseminate critical video and metadata information faster and to more recipients, even in remote locations and while on the move."

The U.S. Army recently bestowed a $250 million research grant to several cloud services providers, and other countries are expected to follow suit. Mobile cloud technology has great potential to improve military operations, and will continue to be researched as cloud computing becomes more and more prevalent in the modern world.