Page 12 - FCW, Sept/Oct 2018
P. 12

 CLOUD COMPUTING PILLAR OF MODERN DEFENSE
          providers are investing in high-bandwidth networks that make it possible for agencies to quickly scale, from basic virtual machine to high performance compute workloads. Combined with powerful compute and storage resources developed by major cloud providers – a robust capacity that exceeds the Defense Department’s current needs – these features will help the Defense Department to modernize military forces.
Innovation is driving operations into the cloud. Access to advanced cloud-based infrastructure
and applications make it possible to leverage advanced analytics and other advanced information resources. Those capabilities, delivered in the most usable formats, provide insights to data analysts and resources when and where they need it.
Moving to the cloud is a major step in modernizing Defense infrastructure, capabilities and applications, without having to replace resources already in place or dedicate scarce IT staff to the task.
Pentagon leaders are voicing support for
moving operations to the cloud. “Accelerating DoD’s adoption of cloud computing technologies is critical to maintaining our military’s technological advantage,” Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan said in a January memo.
FOR DEFENSE AGENCIES, THE CLOUD’S BENEFITS ARE SURPASSING PERCEPTIONS OF RISK.
The Defense Department is putting its money where its mouth is, awarding huge contracts such as the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) cloud acquisition that is underway. The Army, Navy and Air Force are making awards, as well. Undersecretary of Defense Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen M. Lord recently urged Defense agencies to embrace the cloud as an agent of change.
“If we keep doing business the same old way,
our software will be outdated, it will cost far more than it needs to, we won’t be able to attract the best software talent, and we’ll lose our technological edge,” she said. “Change is uncomfortable, but as I tell our team all the time, we need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.”
A NEW OUTLOOK
For Defense agencies, the cloud’s benefits are surpassing perceptions of risk.
While there has been progress in cloud adoption throughout the Defense Department over the past few years, many agencies have spent months or even years researching their options without taking action. Now, for the first time, cloud computing is at an inflection point, largely because decision makers view the benefits of adoption as being greater than lingering perceptions of risks.
 PRODUCED BY: SPONSORED BY:
                Staff Sgt. George Davis



















































































   10   11   12   13   14