This is turning out to be a busy summer. The influx of federal cloud RFIs from April and May are continuing, and, since June, they are transforming into RFQs, which indicates positive momentum in the federal government’s adoption of cloud computing.

Two more factors emerged last week to drive that momentum.

First, the White House announced Steven VanRoekel, a former Microsoft executive, as the next federal CIO. Within an August 4th New York Times article that announced the appointment, VanRoekel said he will move ahead with the work Vivek Kundra began. Kundra, known for several initiatives to use IT more intelligently to save money, reduce waste and make government more efficient, was a key driver for use of federal cloud computing.

Second, we reached the culmination of the debt ceiling debate and the writing seems clear: the federal government needs to do more with less. Federal cloud as a mechanism to achieve rapid savings—and more critically, innovation—could not be more meaningful than it is right now. With easy access to cloud services through a number of contract vehicles, including GSA’s Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) for Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), agencies can achieve fast-track adoption.

In CGI’s white paper, Applying the Cloud for Rapid Savings and Security, we discuss how federal cloud is an important budget savings mechanism that, when applied intelligently, can balance security and service while bringing down costs. The paper outlines five key flags for cloud savings potential, which include:

1. Agencies can avoid the cost of purchasing new computer equipment by moving a system to the cloud—a savings of 15-20%.
2. Savings can be achieved by deploying new system implementations and major upgrades directly into an IaaS cloud environment where agencies can rent, instead of buy, the required new machines.
3. Acquiring testing environments for system updates/upgrades in the cloud can reduce the cost of creating and maintaining these environments.
4. If an agency doesn’t require or desire ownership of a software package, the SaaS approach provides access to new or additional functionality with minimal costs.
5. For custom development needs, a PaaS approach provides the ability to develop custom applications or capabilities without having to purchase the necessary infrastructure or development software.

Check out the paper for more savings and security information. Another good resource to examine is TechAmerica’s Cloud First Buyer’s Guide for Government, in which CGI had the honor of contributing. Stay tuned for future posts with insights to this guide.