Spurring Innovation and Agility in Government

One of the greatest advantages of cloud computing is enabling the government to use the latest innovations at a rapid pace. Cloud services can help government agencies deliver their mission more efficiently and modernize their infrastructure without a substantial upfront capital investment, allowing them to undertake more projects faster.

By having quick access to secure and highly scalable resources and infrastructure, the government can experiment. Cloud gives them the ability to scale up multiple environments at the same time to determine which works best for their needs and course correct without large investment failures.

One example is CMS. CMS is working to bring five years of records online, from 50 states, totaling over 70 terabytes of data. In the past, moving this kind of data would create a log jam. But moving this data to the cloud and allowing access to this data for analytics is going to enable CMS to converge disparate datasets and crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse. They will have new insights into their data.

Tens of thousands of public sector customers use the AWS Cloud to save costs and innovate quickly. Discover more public sector success stories here, including:

• The U.S. Navy: By deploying CNIC N9 GovCloud, a centrally managed content delivery service adaptable to regional needs, the U.S. Navy was able to significantly reduce overall costs, decrease investment in hardware, increase security by reducing network attack surface, and centralize information and data governance. Read more.
• Login.gov: Login.gov delivers an identity platform for public users interacting with government websites by combining maximum security standards, open source technologies, and the AWS Cloud. While performance of the platform is critical, security is paramount to the platform’s success. Login.gov is leveraging AWS services to give the platform the strongest security disposition possible. This includes using AWS to rapidly iterate and keep up with the latest technologies and current cyber threats. Read more.
• The U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command: AFSOC is able to save $3.5 million and serve more than 16,000 active-duty, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard and civilian personnel globally and securely. Read more.
• National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency: In order for NGA to be successful, it needed to adapt to the new landscape and move away from the isolated model of years past. NGA was able to test cloud infrastructure and use it in innovative ways. Read more.

In an era of doing more with less, cloud computing will help government agencies meet their mission and deliver better services at a lower cost to citizens.

To better understand the newer ways in which cloud computing is spurring innovation and agility in government, GovLoop sat down with Doug VanDyke, Director of Federal Civilian and Nonprofits at Amazon Web Services. Read the full interview here.