U.S Government Takes Revolutionary Step in Cloud Computing
The U.S government has taken a major step in Cloud Computing by launching Federal Cloud Store Apps.Gov. Article in Ulitzer highlights Cloud services available on the store that includes Business applications, Cloud IT Services and Social Media applications.
Majority applications are from Salesforce.com and Google while IBM, Microsoft and Amazon resulted in no results. The Social Media section has well known names such as Facebook and Flickr while document sharing websites Slideshare.com and Scribd are also part of the list. The Cloud IT Services section will be functional soon with the following categories in infrastructure services:
- Cloud Storage
- Software Development
- Virtual Machines
- Web Hosting
More services will be added to the store in due time. The billing method is available in both monthly and hourly rates depending upon use. The services are offered under GSA Multiple Award Schedule and ordering activities will use procedures in Federal Acquisition Regulation. The website does not have feature to add services to the list which makes it look like Google/Salesforce store, the sooner it broadens for others the better.
This is a revolutionary move by the government and the providers of Cloud Computing Applications will have new opportunities to approach government as a buyer. The news business models will become more attractive and large enterprises will see the benefits of adopting them. This will allow them to change their mindset and accelerate the adaption process to integrate the new systems to their corporate environment.
