CLOUD COMPUTING FOR U.S.

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BASICS
BenefItS In
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the CLOUD

http://www.microsoft.com/govcloud

enjOyIng LIfe In the CLOUD

Government organizations can apply cloud-based services to improve transparency while addressing administration goals of scalable, interactive citizen portals. The cloud can also help your agency increase collaboration across organizations, deliver volumes of data to citizens in useful ways, and reduce IT costs while helping your agency focus on mission-critical tasks. Plus, the cloud can help you maintain operational efficiency during times of crisis because your applications wont depend on agency servers or on-site staff. With so much opportunity, the hard part can be deciding where the cloud can provide the greatest benefits.

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CLOUD BenefItS fOR gOveRnment

How can the cloud help you transform government? Consider the following: CItIzen SeRvICeS. Drive innovation with data services in the cloud that citizens can reuse. Your agency can also offer data mash-ups on a public portal. InfRAStRUCtURe. Get the IT resources you needfrom a vendor that can manage your needs with a focus on security and predictabilitybut pay for only what you use. Agencies can reduce the need to build out and manage data centers, and IT can consolidate budget and facilities due to hardware efficiencies. fLexIBILIty. Adjust cloud-based resources up and down to meet real-time needs, or offload onsite data to the cloud as needed to improve operational efficiencies. And since the cloud is Internet-based, you can access these resources from anywhere, supporting remote work and continuity of operations. COLLABORAtIOn. With both the application and the data stored in the cloud, it becomes easy for multiple userslocated anywhere in the worldto work together on the same project. DISASteR ReCOveRy/COntInUIty Of OPeRAtIOnS. With centralized data storage, management, and backups, data recovery in response to local business disruptions can be faster and easier. APPLICAtIOnS AnD COntent. Get hosted software, datasets, and services as they are released, without waiting in the software procurement line, so you can focus your mission. POLICIeS AnD RegULAtIOnS. With proper processes in place, cloud computing can help you meet compliance requirements. CReAtIve It. Since cloud services can be centrally managed, IT workers are freed from a keep-the-lights-on approach, providing more time to foster creative problem solving.

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CLOUD ReALIty CheCK

With cloud computing comes a lot of hype. What can you expect? ItS CheAPeR. The truth is that you need to balance the up-front savings with ongoing subscription costs to determine actual savings. The pay-as-you-go approach lets you balance your IT budget with operational expense spending instead of capital expenses. So you can expect to reduce costs associated with server hardware, support and deployment, and power consumption. ItS fASteR. Data-intensive computing in the cloud can be six times faster than in isolated data centers.i You can deploy applications more quickly, too, compared to traditional means. And its certainly fast to procure on-demand servicesjust see https://apps.gov/cloud/advantage/main/start_page.do for an example. ItS gReeneR. In 2006, the U.S. Department of energy estimated that U.S. data centers consumed about 1.5 percent of all U.S. electricity use, and current projections show worldwide carbon emissions from data centers will quadruple by 2020.ii Consolidating and sharing resources can help curb the waste of data center sprawl and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. So yes, the cloud can have a green lining.

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ChOOSe whO IS In yOUR CLOUD

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In the cloud, you share computing power with others. Just who that is depends on the clouds deployment model. The right model for you is the one that meets your data classification, security, privacy, and business requirements: PUBLIC CLOUD A cloud infrastructure shared by the general public or industry, typically owned and managed by an organization that sells cloud services. COmmUnIty CLOUD A cloud infrastructure shared exclusively by certain groups, such as civil agencies or others with like missions, and managed by the group or a third party. It can be hosted on- or off-premises. PRIvAte CLOUD Cloud resources confined inside a firewall with private control over the cloud infrastructure. Some private enterprises run their data centers as a private cloud. In 2009, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the U.S. Department of Defense brought theirs online.iii hyBRID CLOUD An approach that uses a public cloud for some services, such as general business needs, but uses a private data center for others, such as storage of sensitive data that must comply with federal mandates. gOveRnment CLOUD Although you may have heard the term, there is no specific certification that designates a government cloud today.

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LeARn mORe ABOUt the CLOUD

microsoft government guides
CLOUD COmPUtIng: http://www.microsoft.com/govcloud InteROPeRABILIty: http://www.microsoft.com/industry/government/guides/interoperability.aspx SUStAInABILIty: http://www.microsoft.com/industry/government/guides/sustainability.aspx

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Articles
Brookings Institute: Saving money through cloud computing http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2010/0407_cloud_computing_west.aspx Washington Technology: Lockheeds Linda Gooden makes the case for cloud computing http://washingtontechnology.com/Articles/2010/05/03/ Gooden-Cloud-Computing-Column.aspx Booz Allen: The economics of cloud computing http://www.boozallen.com/publications/article/42656904

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Downloads
White paper: Choice and flexibility in government cloud computing (PDF, 227 KB) http://download.microsoft.com/download/B/9/6/B96E76DF-3615-4FA4-92717A727F40693A/CloudGovDatasheet.pdf White paper: Integrating data on-premise and in the cloud (PDF, 299 KB) http://download.microsoft.com/download/B/5/E/B5EB603E-6736-4D7D-9ADD0F2e2e9eDD5D/SQLAzure.pdf Microsoft Cloud Services (PDF, 4.70 MB) http://download.microsoft.com/download/7/0/B/70B05EA3-233E-4677-A921DA409B4EADF6/Microsoft_CloudServices.pdf White paper: An introduction to cloud computing in government (PDF, 4.15 MB) http://download.microsoft.com/download/2/0/1/201E54BE-31A8-4B9B-8069849DCE50C04F/GovernmentCloudComputing.pdf White paper: Economics of the cloud for the US Public Sector (PDF, 1.7MB) http://download.microsoft.com/download/E/9/4/E94877E4-012E-42ED-A0432A3A00e09F70/USPublicSectorCloudeconomics.pdf

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CLOUD BASICS SeRIeS

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enteRIng the CLOUD http://www.microsoft.com/industry/government/guides/cloud_computing/1-entering.aspx gOveRnment BenefItS In the CLOUD http://www.microsoft.com/industry/government/guides/cloud_computing/2-benefits.aspx SeCURIty In the CLOUD http://www.microsoft.com/industry/government/guides/cloud_computing/3-security.aspx SaaS http://www.microsoft.com/industry/government/guides/cloud_computing/4-SaaS.aspx PaaS http://www.microsoft.com/industry/government/guides/cloud_computing/5-PaaS.aspx IaaS http://www.microsoft.com/industry/government/guides/cloud_computing/6-IaaS.aspx CLOUD fIRSt http://www.microsoft.com/cloudfirst

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National Science Foundation. Data Travels Six Times Faster in the Clouds. NSF press release 09-032, February 25, 2009. http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=114229 Forest, William, James M. Kaplan, and Noah Kindler. Data centers: How to cut carbon emissions and costs. McKinsey Quarterly, November 2008. http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Data_centers_How_to_cut_carbon_emissions_ and_costs_2255

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U.S. Department of Defense. DISA Offers DoD Cloud Computing with RACe. Department of Defense press release, October 5, 2009. http://www.disa.mil/news/pressreleases/2009/race_100509.html

http://www.microsoft.com/govcloud

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