Data Center Knowledge has an excellent summary of the different contenders bidding to win cloud-computing projects within the public sector. Whilst US focused, some of the main players will almost certainly be adopting a similar approach with their service offerings to government agencies in other countries around the world.
It’s interesting to see the different types of international company bidding to run national government and military networks, for example:
- Systems integrators such as HP and CSC
- Software/hardware vendors such as IBM and Microsoft
- Online service providers such as Google and Amazon
Microsoft and Google are both building dedicated government cloud platforms separate to their commercial data center offerings. IBM and HP seem to be building on a client-by-client basis, building private cloud platforms to service the Department of Defense and U.S. Airforce. Others like Amazon and CSC are partnering with niche government specialists to build out their services.
Cloud computing has found a logical fit within education, with the need to annually provision accounts for large numbers of users who are temporary for the duration of their education at a given college or university. I suspect the drive to move longer-term adult and social care services into the cloud, along with the more sensitive concerns surrounding military content and applications, will be a bumpier journey.
Reference:
- Who Are The Contenders for the Federal Cloud? – Data Center Knowledge
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