Page 59 - FCW, July/August 2018

CLOUD
that need help catching up on cloud adoption and issued a draft “Cloud Adoption Survival, Tips, Lessons Learned and Experiences Guide.” At the end of 2017, the “Report to the President on Federal IT Modernization” stressed the use of commercial clouds and shared services, and the Modernizing Government Technology Act provided for the creation of a central fund from which agencies can borrow to pay for modernization efforts.
More recently, the National Institute of Standards and Technology released Special Publication 500-322, “Evaluation
of Cloud Computing Services Based on NIST SP 800-145,”
which clarifies the capabilities that qualify as cloud services and categorizes them according to the three main as-a-service models: infrastructure, platform and software.
Managing complex IT environments
Cloud is more than new technologies and policies, however. Today it’s about governance, management, and hybrid and multi-cloud environments. In a Gartner survey of federal IT managers last year, 75 percent of respondents said they planned to implement
a hybrid cloud solution by the end of 2017. Indeed, hybrid cloud adoption has increased by 13 percent year over year while overall cloud adoption has risen by only 2 percent, according to GSA’s almanac, which also states that cloud users have six cloud solutions on average.
Now agencies must find ways to manage a wide range of IT environments. In fact, according to a joint IDG/IBM study, managing complexity is one of the top challenges of a multi-cloud environment. In addition, a CIO.com article states that agencies need solutions that encompass cloud management and cloud service broker functionality. “The gold standard is a solution
that delivers automatic provisioning capabilities and workflow management,” the article adds, and enabling self-service is important in cloud brokerage models, which let users choose what they need from a catalog of options.
GSA recommends creating a roadmap for hybrid cloud implementation that includes inventorying IT assets and needs and setting governance policies for who can review, approve and execute the provisioning of cloud services. Making those decisions will help agencies choose the right cloud provider and set the right metrics for measuring performance.
Despite agencies’ growing ease with the technology, however, cloud optimization brings new cybersecurity challenges. It is essential for agencies to have a holistic view of all cloud and on-premises environments and to apply a consistent approach
to security. Along those lines, DHS’ Continuous Diagnostics
and Mitigation program recently created the CDM Dynamic
and Evolving Federal Enterprise Network Defense series of task orders, which support enhanced cybersecurity for cloud products.
Technology, strategy and support from multiple government agencies are converging to create an environment ripe for optimizing cloud resources.
CLOUD’S IMPACT BY THE NUMBERS
Almost 50 percent of government organizations have adopted cloud technology.
+50%
13 percent is the year-over-year increase in hybrid cloud adoption
by federal agencies.
Federal cloud users have an average of 6 clouds.
IDG and IBM predicted that
65 percent of companies would have a cloud management platform that supports self- service automation by 2018.
96.7 million to 1.2 billion
federal working hours could
be saved annually by
automating computer-based
tasks, resulting in a potential to savings of $3.3 billion
to $41.1 billion.
50%
More than 50 percent of cities and counties say that about 40 percent of their IT environments could reside in the cloud.
13%
65%
$3.3B $41.1B
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Sources: CIO.com, Deloitte, Gartner,
Sources: CIO.com, Deloitte, Gartner, GovTech, GSA