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Federal IT on a Budget

Making the Federal Case -- Best PracticesSession 3-2 Cloud Computing Works Here -- Profiles in Agency

ExperienceMay 21, 2009, 11:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade CenterWashington, DC

Remarks by Brand Niemann (not given)

http://www.meritalk.com/2009-federal-it-forum-details.php

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Questions• 1. What does the emergence of Cloud Computing mean to citizens and how

citizens will come to interact with their government? • 2. How do you think the White House specific mention of Cloud Computing

initiatives in its 2010 budget request will impact the road to adoption and implementation?

• 3. What do you see are the benefits of Cloud Computing (i.e. Productivity, Data Center Control, Cost Savings) – from the implementation standpoint to the end-user? What are/were the challenges? Where there any outcomes that were a surprise?

• 4. From an end-user standpoint, how do utilize the Cloud in your daily activities? How has this changed the way you work? (Major Dillard)

• 5. How are you managing your information on the Cloud? Can you list specific tools that you are using to manage?

• 6. What information/applications are suitable for the Cloud? What is not suitable for the Cloud?

• 7. What security considerations should organizations think about when storing in the Cloud?

• 8. Do you have back up plans if the Cloud fails and what do you do if there is a possibility of data loss?

• 9. How do you measure the performance of these programs? Do you have any statistics to support your move to the Cloud?

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Agenda

• Moderator: Seth Siciliano, Google• Panelists:

– Major Larry Dillard, Office of the Chief Marketing Officer, Department of the Army

– Brand Niemann, Senior Enterprise Architect, Office of the Chief Information Officer for Environmental Information, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

• Representing http://federalcloudcomputing.wik.is and not EPA at this conference (did not attend).

– Henry Sienkiewicz, Technical Program Director, Computing Services, Defense Information Systems Agency

– Tim Young, Senior Manager, Federal Government Services Group, Deloitte Consulting, LLP

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Main Points

• Semantic Clouds:– See Nodalities Magazine, November/December 2008,

page 19, and March 23 Cloud Computing Interoperability Workshop (OMG), Presentation by

• Upcoming Event:– July 13, 2009, Cloud Interoperability Workshop at

OMG Standards in Government and NGOs Workshop, Arlington, VA.

• Federal Cloud Computing Web 2.0 Wiki:– Knowledgebase and SOA and Cloud Computing

Pattern for NCOIC Services WG.

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EPA Context

• At David Eng's (EPA’s Web 2.0 Work Group Lead) presentation (April 28th) at the EPA Web Work Group Conference on the Status of Web 2.0 Work in the Agency (their compilation of user requirements and business needs), I suggested all that could be summarized in a simple cube-like (e.g. Rubik's) diagram with three axes as follows in an Enterprise Architecture / Data Architecture Mission Statement (see next slide).

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EPA Context

• We are providing three Services (Web Services/SOA, Web 2.0/3.0, and Cloud Computing), for three Purposes (Business, Technology, and Data), in three Environments (Public, Private, and Secure).– David Eng agreed that was a really good way to abstract his

findings for our Target EA and DA.

• Specific applications are formed from the connections of nine basic elements and each element of the cube can contain further details as one drills down into each of those nine basic elements. This provides the multiple views and many possible combinations that are the essence of a high-level abstraction.

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Recent Press

• USA.gov May 1, 2009, By Steve Towns, Editor– The federal government's massive information portal -- USA.gov

– will shift to a cloud computing platform this weekend in a move that GSA officials say will slash infrastructure expenses and provide better flexibility.

• Response from Federal Web Content Managers Forum:– Yes, this is exciting news.

• However, I am having a hard time distinguishing between cloud computing and third party hosting, if there is any. We currently host our website with a web host service provider and always have. Would this be considered cloud computing?

– Probably not.• Traditional web hosting is usually: …. and Cloud hosting is: …..

Hope that clears things up. If not, please feel free to e-mail or call. :)

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The US Federal Government Defines Cloud Computing

• Draft NIST Working Definition of Cloud Computing April 24, 2009:– Peter Mell and Tim Grance - National Institute of Standards and

Technology, Information Technology Laboratory• See http://govcloud.ulitzer.com/node/954002

• Caveats:– Note 1: Cloud computing is still an evolving paradigm. Its

definitions, use cases, underlying technologies, issues, risks, and benefits will be refined in a spirited debate by the public and private sectors. These definitions, attributes, and characteristics will evolve and change over time.

– Note 2: The cloud computing industry represents a large ecosystem of many models, vendors, and market niches. This definition attempts to encompass all of the various cloud approaches.

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The US Federal Government Defines Cloud Computing

• Definition of Cloud Computing:– Cloud computing is a pay-per-use model for enabling

available, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. This cloud model promotes availability and is comprised of five key characteristics, three delivery models, and four deployment models (see next slide).

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The US Federal Government Defines Cloud Computing

• Five key characteristics: On-demand self-service; Ubiquitous network access; Location independent resource pooling; Rapid elasticity; and Pay per use.– Note: Cloud software takes full advantage of the cloud paradigm

by being service oriented with a focus on statelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.

• Three delivery models: Cloud Software as a Service (SaaS); Cloud Platform as a Service (PaaS); and Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).

• Four deployment models: Private cloud; Community cloud; Public cloud; and Hybrid cloud.

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Question 1

• What does the emergence of Cloud Computing mean to citizens and how citizens will come to interact with their government?– "The convergence of service-oriented solutions, Web 2.0 and

cloud computing are providing an amazing opportunity for government organizations to leverage the power of mass collaboration, social networking and transparency. But it's crucial that in a world where leaders are constantly bombarded by new capabilities and catch-phrases, that we understand what are the best practices, what works, what doesn't, and how will government organizations move to rapidly adopt these new approaches," said David Wennergren, Deputy DoD CIO and Program Advisory Board Chair, Open Government Conference, that will highlight new administration priorities to utilize social media technologies:

• See http://www.opengovinnovations.com/

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Question 2• How do you think the White House specific mention of

Cloud Computing initiatives in its 2010 budget request will impact the road to adoption and implementation?– In his 2010 Budget, President Obama highlighted cloud

computing as a key tool for improving innovation, efficiency and effectiveness in Federal IT (May 12, 2009):

• " Cloud-computing is a convenient, on-demand model for network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. The cloud element of cloud-computing derives from a metaphor used for the Internet, from the way it is often depicted in computer network diagrams. Conceptually it refers to a model of scalable, real-time, internet-based information technology services and resources, satisfying the computing needs of users, without the users incurring the costs of maintaining the underlying infrastructure. Examples in the private sector involve providing common business applications online, which are accessed from a web browser, with software and data stored on the “cloud” provider’s servers.“

– Source: Kevin Jackson

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Question 2

• How do you think the White House specific mention of Cloud Computing initiatives in its 2010 budget request will impact the road to adoption and implementation?– In addressing common concerns around security, the document

takes this challenge on by appropriately charging agencies to have a proactive risk management plan (May 12, 2009):

• "Implementing a cloud-computing platform incurs different risks than dedicated agency data centers. Risks associated with the implementation of a new technology service delivery model include policy changes, implementation of dynamic applications, and securing the dynamic environment. The mitigation plan for these risks depends on establishing a proactive program management office to implement industry best practices and government policies in the management of any program. In addition, the Federal community will need to actively put in place new security measures which will allow dynamic application use and information-sharing to be implemented in a secure fashion. In order to achieve these goals, pilot programs will provide a model for scaling across the Government. “

– Source: Kevin Jackson

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Question 3

• What do you see are the benefits of Cloud Computing from the implementation standpoint to the end-user?– Martha Dorris, Acting Associate Administrator for the General

Services Administration's (GSA) Office of Citizen Services and Communications on “We (GSA) are flipping the switch tomorrow to the cloud computing platform:

• “The move will cut the portal's infrastructure costs by as much as 90 percent and improve its capabilities. We're saving money and we'll have a flexible infrastructure adding that complete migration to the new platform would be done by September.”

• Where there any outcomes that were a surprise?– Too soon to know.

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Question 4

• From an end-user standpoint, how do you utilize the Cloud in your daily activities?

• Can you list specific tools that you are using to manage?

See July 15th, Cloud Standards Summit at http://federalcloudcomputing.wik.is/July_13%2c_2009

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Question 5

• How are you managing your information on the Cloud?– DISA’s Cloud Computing Initiatives:

• See April 30th Podcast

• Can you list specific tools that you are using to manage?– Semantic Community.net (see previous slide)

• Uses Cloud Computing Services:– MindTouch Deki Express (free) and 2009 Enterprise– Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3)

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Question 6

• What information is suitable for the Cloud? What is not suitable for the Cloud?– Gaining experience with this at Semantic

Community.net

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Question 7

• What security considerations should organizations think about when storing in the Cloud?– Heard the FBI is using the Amazon S3 Cloud

Computing System.– Also read Nick Cobelntz on Cloud Computing

Data Security:• See

http://nickcoblentz.blogspot.com/2009/03/cloud-computing-data-security.html

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Question 8

• Do you have back up plans if the Cloud fails and what do you do if there is a possibility of data loss?– Do not know the answer.

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Question 9

• How do you measure the performance of these programs?– See Answer to Question 3.

• Do you have any statistics to support your move to the Cloud?– Not yet!