CSC last week took the wraps off CSC CloudCompute for Government (CCFG), which provides infrastructure as a service (IaaS) for CSC’s new federal community cloud that is built using National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines and allows for future as a service offerings.

Designed primarily for U.S. federal agencies and government personnel, this multi-tenant community cloud delivers the increased agility and scalability to respond rapidly to changing requirements at a fraction of the cost of a private cloud or a traditional data center. Importantly, it provides the flexibility of a public cloud. Additionally, CloudCompute for Government’s pay-as-you-go pricing structure aligns with the emerging buying alternative to only pay for services utilized. “CSC’s CloudCompute for Government is ideal for a variety of government applications and services and allows agencies to speed time to production, optimize constrained resources and reduce costs. Agencies will see immediate benefits, especially in light of current budget constraints,” said James W. Sheaffer, president of CSC’s North American Public Sector. “This cloud offering addresses the federal agencies’ need to comply with security mandates and positions CSC for success in an emerging high-growth market segment.”

Compared to the traditional IT infrastructure procurement cycle, which can take months or more than a year, the agility of CloudCompute for Government allows agencies to be up and running in near real time. Suitable for clients with information systems processing data at FISMA Moderate and FISMA Low system classification levels, CloudCompute for Government overcomes many objections that security-conscious organizations have to cloud adoption. Protected by CSC’s holistic defense-in-depth security framework, CloudCompute for Government delivers physical and logical security, virtual machines, access control and data integrity needed to support mission-critical applications. CSC’s CloudCompute for Government data centers and IT service management centers are located within the continental United States and are geographically dispersed, which provides redundancy and disaster recovery capabilities. Support staff are U.S. citizens with the appropriate federal agency personnel clearance levels.

(Contact: CSC North American Public Sector, http://csc.com/CCFG, Michelle Herd, Senior Manger, Communications North American Public Sector, 703/205-6186, mherd@csc.com, Bryan Brady, Vice President, Investor Relations, Corporate, 703-641-3000, investorrelations@csc.com.)

Federal agencies want to embrace the cloud, but are anxious about a "nothing but cloud" approach and the complex security issues it raises, according to a survey conducted by SafeGov.org, in partnership the Ponemon Institute and released Jan. 12. The exclusive survey of over 400 federal agency employees on the migration to cloud computing was conducted in September 2011, and focused on the Obama Administration's Cloud First mandate. The results highlight need for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the General Services Administration (GSA) to provide greater transparency about cloud security and more credible data about the true cost of cloud services. "It is important that we assess Cloud First's progress and how key agency decision-makers are embracing the vision," said Dr. Larry Ponemon, Chairman and Founder of Ponemon Institute. "That was the goal of this research." The survey analyzes the current status of the Cloud First mandate and shows that many in federal agencies believe that it is a work in progress. Of the respondents, early compliance with the mandate is high, but incomplete. The survey notes significant push back from federal agencies on the transition as reflected by the following migration statistics: 83 percent of respondents have fully or partially identified the first three applications they intend to migrate; 25 percent have fully migrated at least one legacy application to the cloud; 47 percent say their first migration is in progress.  The majority of IT managers reported that the delay was due to concerns about the tight timelines imposed by Cloud First. Sixty-nine percent say the Cloud First framework is too fast; 71 percent say that pressure to move to the cloud is inadvertently creating greater security risks for their agency. Concerns also remain high about the actual cost savings and overall security associated with cloud computing. A clear preference for using private clouds among survey respondents reflected ongoing apprehension about keeping sensitive data secure. Thirty-eight percent expect that their agency will be using a federal-only cloud in the coming year, 28 percent expect to use a broader government cloud (open to all levels of government), 20 percent expect to use a private cloud limited to their own agency.  Also 73 percent want their servers to be physically isolated from those used by non-government customers and 70 percent want all cloud provider personnel who have access to their agency's servers or data to pass rigorous background checks.  "We know the transition to the cloud is going to happen. But this survey's findings show that agencies are still in need of education on the cloud and how they will transition effectively. The key is for agencies to gather as much information as possible and work closely with their vendors to find the most cost-effective and secure option for their respective organizations," said Jeff Gould, CEO and Director of Research at Peerstone Research and SafeGov.org expert. "SafeGov.org is proud to have sponsored this survey and hope it will foster greater collaboration between federal agencies and cloud vendors as they work to insure a safe and effective transition to the cloud." 

(Contact: SafeGov.org, http://www.safegov.org, Anthony Applewhaite, 202/393-7337, aapplewhaite@brunswickgroup.com).



The French Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (DILA) has awarded Accenture a three-year contract to design, build and deliver its Next Generation Data Center, the G-Cloud, in France.  The contract supports the government’s strategic technology goals to create savings by controlling costs. Accenture will work with DILA to build a more flexible IT infrastructure to increase access, availability and performance of nationwide public services offered to French citizens. The information will be stored on the country’s first government cloud. DILA, one of the branches of the prime minister’s central administration, oversees administrative information, legal distribution and public announcements. DILA’s decision to create the G-Cloud enables the government to standardize new services for citizens and administration officers. “Now is the time to make the cloud real, to provide a real solution with working systems that will help DILA meet the growing needs of its citizens,” said Jerome Vercaemer, managing director of Accenture’s Health & Public Service group in France. “Cloud computing is not a theory. It is a reality that will help streamline operations and help pool government resources.” The G-cloud will be fully operational by March 2012, he said.  Three subcontractors will support Accenture: Cisco UCS, NetApp and VMware.

(Contact: Accenture, Helene Knopf, +33 (0)1 56 52 74 32, helene.knopf@accenture.com, Direction de l’information légale et administrative (DILA), Nathalie Merle, +33 (0)1 40 15 70 20, nathalie.merle@dila.gouv.fr.)

BlueCat Networks announced last week that its IP Address Management (IPAM) technology will be used as a component of HP Network Consulting for IPv6 services to help governments and enterprises worldwide simplify the transition to IPv6.  By combining IPAM with HP Network Consulting for IPv6 services, governments and enterprises will be able to enhance network flexibility and scalability to support critical IT initiatives, such as virtualization and cloud computing. These services enable a seamless transition to an IPv6 connected world by assessing IPv6 readiness, as well as architecture and design, integration and deployment. “The connected world is also an IP-dependent world,” said Michael Hyatt, co-founder and CEO of BlueCat Networks. “By working with HP, we are helping commercial and government organizations successfully make the transition to IPv6, which is a key technology for enabling successful IT initiatives including virtualization and the cloud today and in the future.” (Contact: BlueCat Networks, http://www.bluecatnetworks.com +1.416.646.8400, +1.866.895.6931).