How to Revive the Feds' Lifeless 'Cloud First' Policy

Remember the federal government's "cloud first" policy? A year ago, the Washington Post reported, "The [General Services Administration, the main procurement agency] is the first federal agency to make the Internet switch, and its decision follows the Office of Management and Budget's declaration last month that the government is now operating under a 'cloud-first' policy, meaning agencies must give priority to Web-based applications and services."

Almost a year later, we're still waiting for cloud computing to show up in most government agencies. There are many reasons for the slow adoption of cloud computing in the federal government: the huge size of government IT, the long procurement cycles, and the lack of cloud computing talent in both government IT and its array of contractors.

Another issue is pushback from multiple entities against the use of cloud computing, including Congress questioning the "cloud first" policy. Congress is looking at the potential security risks of cloud computing. However, government IT and government contractors are relatively sure they can maintain enterprise security as the government looks to migrate to the cloud...