News Feature | April 10, 2015

Study Finds Only 41 Percent Of Feds Consider Cloud Part Of Overall IT Strategy

Christine Kern

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

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A study by Meritalk finds, despite a majority (62 percent) of federal agencies in 2010 that reported they would move to cloud-based computing within five years, in a recent poll, just 41 percent of Feds see cloud as an integral component of their overall IT strategy.

This latest study demonstrates that, despite the potential savings of $18.9 billion annually, federal agencies are dragging their feet in the migration to cloud services.

In the 2010 survey, just 5 percent stated that they did not intend to ever migrate to cloud services, while 19 percent predicted a shift within two years.

Despite the best efforts of cloud vendors, 89 percent of federal agencies polled report being apprehensive about moving IT services and applications to the cloud, and only 51 percent have utilized cloud-only for a limited number of specific applications.

Meanwhile, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports the average amount of IT budgets dedicated specifically to cloud computing has risen just 1 percent between 2012 and 2014 (from 1 percent to 2 percent). It is estimated that federal agencies will spend approximately $2.9 billion on cloud services in 2015, rising to $7.7 billion in 2017.

The study also found that 73 percent of Federal agencies are using one or more cloud models for some or all of their computing needs.

Security remains the chief concern when it comes to the cloud, with 54 reporting that this is holding them back from committing. And despite security concerns, only one-third of agencies are currently FedRAMP compliant. Meanwhile, only 44 percent have “mature” data governance practices in the cloud.

This is despite the fact that agencies can save significant amounts through migration. Agencies that have already incorporated cloud into their overall strategy are saving 50 percent more than their fellow agencies with limited strategies.

This potential savings is not being lost on Fed executives. Forty-four percent think that their agencies are missing out on potential savings by using private clouds over public, hybrid, or community clouds, and 55 percent of Feds say cloud will simplify data management. Another 41 percent report that FedRamp is encouraging the adoption of hybrid, community, or public cloud solutions.

So, how can you ease the federal transition to the cloud? Meritalk offers the following recommendations:

  • Deploy dynamic solutions that integrate cloud-based collaboration, networking, storage, and mobility services.
  • Deploy agile cloud systems that reduce data storage requirements, resulting in reduction of costs.
  • Leverage bundled IT technologies that reduce the complexity and cost of the infrastructure and increase efficiency/
  • Provide integrated data-portability technologies to allow for dynamic movement of data and application among cloud resources and providers.