Cloud in government

In April Darrell West, Director of Brookings Governance Studies, authored a report on how cloud computing could cut costs for the federal government (see FR post). In the first paper of a series launched by the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings last week, West reviews current federal IT policy and discusses rules, practices, and procedures that limit innovation. Among his recommendations:

• Public officials should develop more consistent rules on computing across desktop, laptop, mobile, and cloud platforms.
• The use of video, collaboration, and social networking should be authorized for congressional offices. This would make legislative branch policy consistent with that of the executive branch.
• Judicial branch computing should be modernized, with greater emphasis on cloud computing.
• There should be a more uniform certification process for federal agencies.
• Privacy rights should be placed on the same footing regardless of whether a person is using desktop or cloud computing.

Steps to Improve Cloud Computing in the Public Sector, July 21, 2010
      Report (pdf, 13pp/255kB)
      Executive Summary