Data Backup Digest

As cloud computing and cloud-oriented security services have been offered to enterprises and consumers for quite some time now, it seems only natural that the technology would make its way into the United States Armed Forces at some point. Although the U.S. Army hasn’t made any concrete moves toward one service provider or another, they have announced their plans to pursue cloud computing for use in governmental and military applications around the globe.

Gary Wang, the U.S. Army’s Deputy Chief Information Officer, spoke about their new plans in a recent blog post. He was quoted as saying: “Procuring these capabilities as services will allow the Army to focus resources more effectively to meet evolving mission needs. Over time, this transition will increase IT operational efficiency, network security, and agility. It will improve interoperability with our mission partners and posture the Army to adopt innovative technology quicker and at lower cost.”

Just as expected, however, the U.S. Army cites cloud-based security as one of their chief concerns. For this reason, as well as several others, officials with the U.S. Army will perform plenty of due diligence before settling on the cloud service that is right for them and their highly sensitive applications.

After all, there are plenty of options to choose from. Amazon Web Services, Google, Microsoft and a plethora of others are all possible candidates at this point. However, given the fact the United States Army has worked with several of those names in the past, including Amazon and IBM, it’s highly likely that the U.S. Army will decide to go with one of the major players in the cloud computing industry today.

Another issue, and one that the U.S. Army is well aware of, is the costs associated with cloud computing on such a massive scale. Because it will need to be deployed around the globe in order to be of maximum use, the initiative will require a significant investment on the part of the U.S. government. While quite the expensive endeavor, the move is expected to streamline operations and strengthen the defense capabilities of the United States well into the 21st century.

Robert Ferrell, a chief information officer with the United States Army, helped to explain the need for cloud computing in governmental applications today. He was quoted as saying: “The transition to cloud-based solutions and services will enable the Army to successfully provide the robust network necessary for our warfighters anytime, anywhere.” Ferrell continued by stating their goal of improving the “capacity and security of network infrastructure and to modernize, prepare and migrate applications.” Procuring the appropriate cloud computing services will allow them to do just that.

Further information regarding the United States Army can be found at their official homepage, which is located at www.army.mil. Here you can browse the latest news headlines, view photo galleries and learn about the United States Army. Those who may be interesting in joining the United States Army will also be able to begin the process through the link given above.