Is the Federal Government Moving Too Fast with Cloud Computing?
May
18
Written by:
5/18/2011 9:46 PM
Much fanfare has been made recently about the Federal government's Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative (FDCCI). At this point, I think everyone can agree on a few fundamental notions that are almost certain not to change with regard to data center consolidation and cloud computing. First, the Federal government is going full steam ahead into the practice of cloud computing. Vivek Kundra, among many others, has made very clear that the future of IT in government resides in cloud-based operating models. Second, is the idea that the Federal government urgently wants to reduce its data center footprint. With close to 2,100 data centers currently in use it is no surprise that the government wants to reduce the costs and complexities associated with IT operations and management through the notion of shared resources, pooling, and realizing increased computing efficiencies through coordinated consolidation. While the Federal government's push to be proactive in identifying a future direction for IT is commendable, one can't help but wonder if it comes with adverse costs?
In Federal IT, cloud is the hot topic, and rightfully so given its explosion in popularity as a cost-friendly legitimate IT solution. It is most certainly the operating model of the future and it undoubtedly holds numerous potential benefits. However, we in the Federal IT community should not be so idealistic to think that cloud is automatically the 'silver bullet' for IT and will solve the Federal government's IT challenges. Too often we are seeing people in Federal IT assuming that cloud is their answer without fully-understanding or considering the requirements, challenges, constraints, and potential operating impacts that cloud migration could have on their agencies. While I applaud the Federal government for trying to convey cloud's importance, and seeking to jumpstart momentum by requiring agencies to create a 'cloud-first' strategy by June 2011, this may be a case where being patient on the front-end will help ensure cost-savings and better results on the back-end.
One of the key questions that few in Federal IT are asking today is "how do we successfully and intelligently migrate to the cloud?" Call it enterprise architecture, business transformation, or strategy and planning, the fact remains that for successful migration to an effective cloud environment, agencies first need to do their homework. In this case, homework means answering foundational questions (via one of the abovementioned practices) about their business, information, and technology assets which are needed to help craft an effective transition strategy to the cloud. As we have seen in Federal IT over the years, the difference between successful endeavors and those that fail can be as slim as the accuracy and availability of critical information that decision-makers need to make the right decisions, the first time. In the case of cloud computing, I believe it is of critical importance for decision-makers to first ensure that a foundation exists whereby specific types of business and technical information and attributes about that information are well-documented, maintained, and easily reported. This will allow those stakeholders playing an integral role in cloud migration (i.e., CIO, CTO, etc.) to have the necessary information to conduct relevant analysis and make informed decisions. The idea is that if one spends the time to correctly build this capability prior to decision-making, then aspects such as cost, time, and operational efficiencies are realized as a result of good planning. Failure to properly plan is likely to result in ill-informed decisions, leading to unrealized customer expectations, re-work, increased costs, delayed timelines, and overextended resources. My belief is simple; those agencies that carefully and effectively plan for eventual cloud migration will have a far greater likelihood of success than those that hastily dive head-first into cloud and data center decision-making before knowing all the facts.