By Teresa Carlson, Vice President, Microsoft Federal
In May, IDC released results of a cloud computing survey on server adoption that reported significant interest from IT leaders in private cloud options, and far less support for broad adoption of public cloud services. I often hear the same thing from federal leaders that are concerned about security but excited about the benefits of cloud – including scalability, cost-of-ownership savings, and efficiency. They want control of their data, but they want apps on-demand as well. DISA’s RACE is an interesting example of a private cloud program that offers computing resources to Defense organizations but operates solely only on the DoD's internal network. Agencies like the DoD that deal with sensitive information are looking for cloud solutions that still maintain and support their internal security practices, and some federal regulations demand that certain types of data be hosted within government-operated infrastructures.
It’s not hard to see why private cloud options are so attractive to federal agencies, but striking the balance between agility and security isn’t always easy. One solution that has a lot to offer in this department is Lockheed Martin’s Thundercloud. It’s a design pattern that combines on-premise hosting with applications on-demand (design patterns are tools that software developers use to create solutions in line with compliance factors and other best practices). Implementers use it to build solutions that keep federal agency data behind their firewall, but also allow access to computing, storage and application services via the cloud.
Agencies don’t have to adjust security, privacy and compliance processes because the data is still on-premise, but the scale and cost-savings are there because IT leaders are only using (and paying for) external resources when they need them.
There is a cool pilot program being planned for the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games in Puerto Rico that is being built using this technology. It’s an identity management tool designed to quickly identify and confirm athletes and other authorized personnel for entrance into event facilities. Digital photographs are submitted by approved event participants in advance of the event, and hosted on a database behind the event’s IT firewall. During the games, when an athlete attempts to gain access to an event location, security personnel will use a smartphone to take his or her photo. The participant’s photo and personal information will then be automatically compared with database records to confirm the identity. As anyone who’s organized a major event can tell you, security and efficiency are major challenges. The fact that solid authentication can be done quickly from a handheld device is an incredible innovation.
We learned about the cool things Lockheed was doing with private clouds because they used Windows Azure to develop the design pattern. We have a full blown case study up on our Web site, and it contains some great insight for agencies looking to host their own data while gaining the cost benefits of a consumption-based computing model.