Latest News from Kevin Jackson

FedRAMP PMO Releases First Set of 3PAOs

Mon, 14 May 2012 17:41:00 EDT

Late today the FedRAMP Program Management Office released the first list of certified Third Party Assessment Organizations (3PAOs). These companies are accredited to perform initial and periodic assessment of cloud service provider (CSP) systems per FedRAMP requirements, provide evidence of compliance, and play an on-going role in ensuring CSPs meet requirements. FedRAMP provisional authorizations must include an assessment by an accredited 3PAO to ensure a consistent assessment process. he initial set of 3PAOs announced today are (see http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/131991):

FedRAMP Releases Updated Security Assessment Plan Templates

Tue, 08 May 2012 04:50:00 EDT

Last week the GSA FedRAMP Program Office released the latest version of the cloud computing Security Assessment Plan (SAR) template. This document is the most recent step toward the Federal governments goal of establishing FedRAMP initial operating Capability by June 2012. The Federal Risk Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) is a government-wide program that provides a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for Cloud Service Providers (CSP).

NJVC® and Gravitant® Announce New Strategic Alliance

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:15:00 EDT

NJVC®, one of the largest information technology solutions providers supporting the U.S. Department of Defense, and Gravitant®, a provider of cloud brokerage and management solutions for IT enterprises, announce a new strategic alliance. Under the terms of the partnership, the two companies will launch a cobranded cloud portal later this spring designed specifically to support the federal government’s planning, provisioning and management of cloud services across multiple providers. “The consulting and business development expertise of NJVC and the software product line of Gravitant have great synergy,” said Kevin Jackson, NJVC vice president and general manager, cloud services. “NJVC government customers will now have one centralized place for all their cloud needs, and can rest assured that the underlying tools of the soon-to-be-announced portal will constantly optimize the cloud in their favor.”

The Security of Cloud Computing

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:03:00 EDT

NJVC®, one of the largest information technology solutions (IT) providers supporting the U.S. Department of Defense, is pleased to announce that Kevin L. Jackson, vice president (VP) and general manager (GM), cloud services, will speak at the 2012 Emerging Threats and Cyber Defense Symposium, March 20 -21 at Georgia Tech Research Institute in Atlanta. The conference is hosted by the Defense Industry Cyber Threat Working Group and Federal Bureau of Investigations, Atlanta Division.

Jackson’s presentation will center on the issues surrounding the security of cloud computing in the highly secure IT environments of the intelligence community. He will dispel myths about the lack of security in the cloud, and discuss how the adoption of the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program by the federal government will ensure a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services. Jackson will also outline the implications of FedRAMP for IC agencies and federal systems integrators that serve them.

Title: “Cloud Computing and Security”

Presenter: Kevin L. Jackson, VP and GM, cloud services, NJVC

Date: March 21

Time: 9 – 10:30 a.m.

Location: Georgia Tech Research Institute, Conference Center, 250 14th St., NW, Atlanta, GA

Presenentations will include:

User Education as a Network Defense Element - Cheryl Conley- Cyber Security Education and Awareness Senior Manager, Lockheed Martin
Open Source Intel Collection and Social Network Threats - Daniel Clemens- CEO, PacketNinjas LLC
Targeted Cyber-Espionage Operations Against Western Economic and National Security Resources- Dmitri Alperovitch - President, Asymmetric Cyber Operations LLC
APT and Robust Network Defense - Chris Bream- Manager, Mandiant
Cloud Computing and Security - Kevin Jackson- Vice President & General Manager for Cloud Services, NJVC LLC
Active Defense - Dr Ronald Ross- Fellow, National Institute for Science and Technology (NIST)
Counterfeit Parts - Art Ogg- Art Ogg Quality Consulting
Organized Criminal Hacking - Scott Warren- Special Agent, FBI Atlanta Cyber
Network Defense and Intrusion Response - Dr. Ron Ross, NIST , Paul Huesken, Director of Global Information Assurance, The Coca Cola Company , Randy Coleburn, CISO, SRC , Carl Holton, Information System Security Manager, Lockheed Martin , SSA David West, FBI AT Cyber Supervisor

Attendees from throughout the southeast, specializing in IT, IT security, the defense industry, finance and banking, and energy are expected to attend, as well as representatives from national and international corporations.

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About NJVC

With a focus on information technology automation, NJVC specializes in supporting highly secure, complex IT enterprises in mission-critical environments, particularly for the intelligence and defense communities. We offer a wide breadth of IT and strategic solutions to our customers, ranging from strategic consulting to managed flexible services in five business areas: Cloud Services, Cyber Security, Data Center Services, IT Services and Print Solutions. Our global workforce includes dedicated and talented employees with 94 percent holding security clearances located at more than 170 customer sites. We partner with our customers to support their missions. To learn more, visit www.njvc.com.

Contact

Michelle Snyder
NJVC7
03.893.7609
michelle.snyder@njvc.com

Audra Capas
5StarPR
703.437.9301
audra@5starpr.com

( Thank you. If you enjoyed this article, get free updates by email or RSS - KLJ )

NJVC’s Kevin L. Jackson on Cloud Computing for the Intelligence Community

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:07:00 EDT

NJVC, one of the largest information technology solutions (IT) providers supporting the U.S. Department of Defense, announces that a white paper addressing the risks and benefits of cloud computing for the intelligence community (IC)—co-authored by Kevin L. Jackson, NJVC vice president and general manager, cloud services—was released today. The Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) released the white paper in conjunction with Government Executive magazine at a cloud computing panel discussion at the National Press Club in Washington.

INSA Study on Cloud Computing in the Intelligence Community

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 05:00:00 EDT

Over the last year I’ve had the pleasure of serving with a team of volunteers from the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) as we dove deep into topics associated with Cloud Computing and the Intelligence Community. National security technologists have long been thought leaders when it comes to adopting advanced technology to serve important missions and have long been leveraging the emerging benefits of cloud computing and mission focused applications like Big Data.

Progress Report on NIST's Cloud Technology Roadmap

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 05:00:00 EST

Next week at the Hyatt Regency in reston, Virginia, the Cloud Standards Customer Council will be holding it's Public Sector Cloud Summit. This two day cloud event will feature international public sector Cloud leaders to exchange information about current projects, future plans, and prioritized requirements. Standards Development Groups, and Cloud Providers will be present to discuss progress related to the prioritized requirements. Attendees will explore possible frameworks for ongoing discussion and coordination across international public sector Cloud initiatives, SDOs, and Cloud Providers.

This summit will emphasis standardizations .needed in technology, best practices, organizations, and policies for interoperability, portability, and trust of Clouds across national and regional boundaries. A key topic will be Priority Action Plans for international security, portability and interoperability standards as called for in NIST's Cloud Technology Roadmap

Highlights will include:

NIST Keynote - NIST US Government Technology Roadmap Progress and Next Steps Dawn Leaf, Senior Executive for Cloud Computing,
GSA Keynote - David McClure Associate Administrator of the Office of Citizen Services and Communications will present an update on GSA Cloud activities
EC plan for the year 2012 in the area of Cloud Computing , Jean-François Junger, European Commission, Head of Sector, DG Information Society and Media will present "EC plan for the year 2012 in the area of Cloud Computing", as announced by Vice President, Neelie Kroes in Davos.
Europe (VISION Cloud Project) Massimo Villari - Prof. At University of Messina, Italy "Storage Cloud Challenges: VISION Cloud EU Project"
India - Renu Budhiraja (+ M.R. Rajagopalan), Sr. Director, and Head of Division, State Data Center, e-Governance Group,Department of IT, GOI. + Director C-DAC, The Chennai Unit of the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC))
UK - Andy Tait - Former Deputy Director for the G-Cloud, UK Cabinet Office
Korea - Jeongwon Yoon - Executive Director National Information Society Agency
Standards Tracking Groups Perspective - TechAmerica State and Local Government Cloud Commission Daniel Kent, Co-Chair of Commission and Cisco CTO for US Federal Solutions "Best Practices and Policies Recommendations"
Asia Cloud Computing Association - Mark Ross, Co-Founder and Executive Director "Cloud Computing in Asia"
Cloud Best Practices Network - Neil McEvoy, Founder "Hybrid SaaS - Platform for Software as a Service in the public sector"
Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium (NCOIC), Kevin Jackson Chairman, NCOIC Cloud Computing Working Group "Using Cloud for Geospatial Interoperability"
Cloud SDO Status and Plans Related to Public Sector Requirements OASIS - Jamie Clark (+ Paul Lipton) General Counsel (+ TOSCA Lead)
Amazon, Mark Ryland, Chief Solutions Architect, Global Public Sector, AWS "Cloud Computing Requirements in the Public Sector"
Google, David Mihalchik, Strategy & Business Development Lead, Google Federal Enterprise
Matthew Goodrich (GSA) and Allison Stanton (DOJ) "Creating Effective Cloud Computing Contracts for the Federal Government"

Full agenda and registration is available at http://cloud-council.org/March2012/agenda.htm .

SEE YOU THERE !!!

( Thank you. If you enjoyed this article, get free updates by email or RSS - KLJ )

NRO CIO Named One of 10 Top Women in Cloud

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:05:00 EST

CONGRATULATIONS to National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) CIO Jill T. Singer for being selected as one of the 10 winners of the first annual CloudNOW awards presented at the Cloud Connect Conference in Sata Clara, California earlier this week.

From the NRO Press Release:
"Considered one of the top women leaders in Federal IT, Ms. Singer was recognized for her innovative and inspirational leadership in the area of Cloud Computing. She is known not only for her presentations and writings on technologies and business changes needed for technological success, but her ability to mentor and grow the next generation of IT leaders to deliver long-term, sustained success."

Over the years I have personally admired Ms. Singer for her GovCloud leadership. This admiration comes from having the pleasure to work directly with her on "the QUAD" and the subsequent Intelligence Community Common Operating Environment (IC COE). Her ability to understand and communicate the complexities and value of cloud computing have been crucial to the Intelligence Communities adoption of this exciting operational and economic model.

Ms. Singer said upon receiving the award,“I am deeply honored to be recognized by CloudNOW with this leadership award. Having been in the IT field for many years, I believe the cloud computing chapter in the industry is an exciting one and I am proud to be a part of it.”

The other CloudNOW Top Women in Cloud Awardees were::

•Padmasree Warrior, CTO, Cisco

•Lauren States, CTO of Cloud Computing, IBM

•Vanessa Alvarez, Analyst, Infrastructure and Operations, Forrester Research

•Jamie Dos Santos, President of Terremark, a Verizon company

•Becky Swain, Founder of the Cloud Security Alliance

•Lori MacVittie, Senior Technical Analyst, F5 Networks

•Ellen Rubin, Founder of CloudSwitch, Terremark, a Verizon company

•Dawn Leaf, Senior Executive for Cloud Computing, NIST

•Jamie Erbes, Cloud Labs Director, HP Fellow, HP

( Thank you. If you enjoyed this article, get free updates by email or RSS - KLJ )

Confusion Surrounds PaaS for Federal IT Buyers

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:00:00 EST

VIENNA, Va., Jan. 23, 2012 —NJVC, one of the largest information technology solutions providers supporting the U.S. Department of Defense, and Virtual Global, a premier provider of software and cloud computing platform solutions for a variety of industry and federal customers, announce the release of a joint white paper, “Platform as a Service (Paas): What Is It? Why Is It So Important?.”

The paper clarifies the confusion surrounding PaaS for IT decision makers in the federal government. The National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) suggests PaaS as a component of the Federal Cloud Computing Reference Architecture, but one major challenge exists: Most buyers do not understand what PaaS is, why it is important and how it can help federal agencies cut development costs by more than 50 percent.

“Federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel said that platform as a service is the next major value set for federal cloud computing, and it also aligns closely with his Shared Services initiative to knock down stovepipe software and save money,” said Kevin Jackson, co-author and general manager, NJVC cloud services. “I hope that this whitepaper will help raise awareness of its importance in the federal marketplace.”
Many PaaS vendors require their customers to make long-term commitments to proprietary infrastructures. Some early adopters of PaaS unknowingly have already made casual, long-term commitments to infrastructure providers. “It's somewhat like buying gum at the counter, but needing to rent the store for 10 years,” said Cary Landis, co-author and Virtual Global senior platform architect and founder. “That is why NIST is stressing the importance of openness and portability. IT buyers must understand PaaS to make the right decisions early.”

PaaS makes it possible for software developers to participate in the cloud. Until recently, the cloud has been dominated by big email and infrastructure providers selling commodity services. “PaaS changes the landscape—it opens the playing field to hundreds of thousands of software developers and integrators, giving them a way to actively participate,” according to Jackson. “Whereas the first wave of cloud computing was about consolidating data centers, the PaaS wave is about consolidating applications. It will be a more complex ride, but the savings will be greater,” Landis said.

Download the white paper at no cost at http://www.slideshare.net/kvjacksn/njvcvirtual-global-paas-white-paper. NJVC and Virtual Global are team members on the GovCloud™ initiative.

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About NJVC

With a focus on information technology automation, NJVC specializes in supporting highly secure, complex IT enterprises in mission-critical environments, particularly for the intelligence and defense communities. We offer a wide breadth of IT and strategic solutions to our customers, ranging from strategic consulting to managed flexible services in five business areas: Cloud Services, Cyber Security, Data Center Services, IT Services and Print Solutions. Our global workforce includes dedicated and talented employees with 94 percent holding security clearances located at more than 170 customer sites. We partner with our customers to support their missions. To learn more, visit www.njvc.com.

About Virtual Global

Virtual Global is a premier provider of software and cloud computing platform solutions for a variety of industry and federal clients. The SaaS Maker™ family of platform products is open and modular, so that you can integrate with existing open source, legacy and 3rd-party web services. It is also portable across data centers. http://www.virtualglobal.com

Contact

Michelle Snyder, NJVC, 703.893.7609, michelle.snyder@njvc.com
Audra Capas, 5StarPR, 703.437.9301, audra@5starpr.com

( Thank you. If you enjoyed this article, get free updates by email or RSS - KLJ )

December 2011: GovCloud Moves from Policy to Law

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:00:00 EST

Over the past years, government cloud computing has steadily moved forward from it's early beginnings as an interesting curiosity. Since Sunday's broadcast, I've been asked numerous times about my real answer to the question "Will 'Cloud Computing' Work In White House". Although I would never assume to be in a position to advise the President-elect, I'm more than happy, however, to add my voice to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the distinguished list of contributors that recently released the CSIS Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency. I truly believe that cloud computing technology can be used to implement some of their recommendations. One in particular is their recommendation for a National Office for Cyberspace (NOC) and a new National Security Council Cybersecurity Directorate (NSCCD).

CloudMASTER & CloudGURU Certification Comes to Washington, DC

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 16:31:00 EST

The National Cloud Technologist Association is bringing the CloudMASTER & CloudGURU certification classes to the Washington Metropolitan Area in 2012. First introduced in November at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in Newark, this continuing education program provides a solid technical background in modern web services deployment and administration. Students will learn concepts, principles, techniques, and practices needed to administer and secure a modern cloud-enabled business environment. CloudMASTER is comprised of three levels. The foundation program includes all the basics required for understanding Cloud computing services and operational management. Each of the three training modules can be completed as a stand-alone course and representing its own credential

GovCloud.com !! The New Hub for Government Cloud Computing

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 22:49:00 EST

It gives me great pleasure to announce the relaunch of GovCloud.com! GovCoud is the “go to” place for everything related to federal cloud computing. Our mission is to help federal organizations learn about, try and securely adopt cloud computing technologies. In full alignment with The Federal Cloud Computing Strategy, the Federal CIO’s 25-Point Federal IT Reform Plan and NIST’s Cloud Computing Technology Roadmap, this site will provide a community hub for information dissemination and GovCloud best practices. A great deal of personal thanks goes out to the GovCloud.com member companies.

Backupify Names Top 10 Cloud Computing Experts to Follow on Twitter

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 22:15:00 EST

Thank you for the honor of being on your Top 10 List! Backupify is the leading backup provider for cloud based data, offering an all-in-one archiving, search and restore service for the most popular online services including Google Apps, Facebook, Twitter and more. With one account you get centralized access to all of your information, stored securely, easily searchable, and ready for restoration or transfer at a moment's notice.

NJVC Cloud Expert Kevin Jackson to Speak at NIST Cloud Computing Forum

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 13:45:00 EDT

NJVC®, one of the largest information technology solutions providers supporting the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), is pleased to announce that Kevin Jackson, general manager, cloud services, will participate in the “Security Assumption Buster Panel” during the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cloud Computing Forum & Workshop IV on Nov. 3 in Gaithersburg, Md. NJVC is one of the largest information technology solutions providers supporting the U.S. Department of Defense. We provide innovative and high-quality IT solutions to the government and commercial organizations, and specialize in supporting highly secure IT enterprises, particularly for the intelligence and defense communities.

NJVC General Manager, Cloud Services, Kevin Jackson to Moderate Cloud Panel

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 22:22:00 EDT

Cloud computing, a new approach in the provisioning and consumption of IT, has been described as a means to cut federal IT budgets. This panel of esteemed intelligence community technologists will discuss the implementation of cloud solutions (private, public, community and hybrid) from public and private providers specific to intelligence community customers. Jackson heads the new NJVC cloud services business unit, and joined the company in 2010. A prolific blogger and first-time book author on cloud computing, he was recently named one of the “Most Powerful Voices in Security” by SYS-CON MEDIA.

NJVC Spotlights Cyber Security and Automated IT at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 23:03:00 EDT

NJVC®, one of the largest information technology solutions providers supporting the Department of Defense, announces its lineup for the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo®, Oct. 16 - 20 at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel in Orlando, Fla. Visit the NJVC booth (#206) on the tradeshow floor to meet with company representatives and earn about NJVC’s extensive and proven portfolio of IT solutions for government and commercial customers. NJVC will provide the following live demonstrations for attendees.

NJVC to Demonstrate Enterprise Automation at GEOINT 2011

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 11:36:00 EDT

NJVC, one of the largest information technology solutions (IT) providers supporting the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), is pleased to offer live, compelling demonstrations on the company’s Streamlined NJVC Automation Products, Services and Solutions™ (SNAPSS™) at GEOINT 2011 Symposium—the largest intelligence event in the United States—on Oct. 16 – 19 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio. More than 200 exhibitors will showcase their services and products at the GEOINT 2011 Symposium Exhibit Hall. Approximately 4,000 people are expected to attend the symposium, including the leadership of the intelligence, defense and homeland security communities.

Mr. Jeffrey Kaplan Talks About the Cloud Channel

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:14:00 EDT

This afternoon I had a very interesting discussion with Mr. Jeffrey Kaplan, Managing Director of THINKstrategies and founder of the Cloud Computing Showplace. His firm is focused entirely on the business implications of the transition of the technology industry from product-centric to services-driven solutions, including Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Cloud Computing and Managed Services. Mr. Kaplan is also the Founder of the Cloud Computing Showplace (www.cloudshowplace.com), a vendor-independent, online directory and best practice resource center regarding SaaS, Platforms-as-a-Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), including Managed Services with nearly 1,800 companies divided into over 90 categories. Our conversation focused on the evolution of the system integrator within the public sector marketplace. One of his key goals was to dispel the myth that system integrators and their channel partners will be displaced by the rapidly growing list of cloud providers. In his view, system inegrator must quickly evolve their businesses to deliver cloud based solutions. Today's traditional information technology channel sales model will morph into a new cloud channel sales model.

The Economic Benefit of Cloud Computing

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 09:00:00 EDT

Cloud computing, as defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, is a model for enabling “… convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.” NIST is implying the economies of scale that go with cloud computing when it refers to a pool of configurable computing resources. Cloud computing is often referred to as a technology. However, it is actually a significant shift in the business and economic models for provisioning and consuming information technology (IT) that can lead to a significant cost savings. This cost savings can only be realized through the use of significant pooling of these “configurable computing resources” or resource pooling. According to NIST, this capability is an essential characteristic of cloud computing. Resource pooling is the ability of a cloud to serve multiple customers using a multi-tenant model with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to demand.

Implementation of Cloud Computing Solutions in Federal Agencies: Part 4

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 09:00:00 EDT

The defense and intelligence communities are not immune to cloud computing. Arguably more than any other government agencies, their missions require a fabric of utility computing that scales on demand and enables self discovery and self-service access to secure, timely and relevant information in support of mission: individual or shared. The traditional IT model requires system engineering that binds most software to the hardware and does not provide an enterprise suite of functionality or allow for increased flexibility and a governed lifecycle of services. Designing software independence from the hardware allows an operating system, applications and data to “live” across the enterprise and is fundamental to the transformation of compute, storage and network functionality. Defense is dealing with a $78 billion budget cut—the first since September 11, 2001—and another $100 billion in other cost-cutting measures over a five-year period commencing in FY 2012. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is directing that the budget be cut from agency administrative and structural areas (e.g., the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Network Intelligence and Information, the Business Transformation Agency, and the Joint Forces Command are in the process of being eliminated or disestablished with some essential functions transferred to other organizations with the Pentagon).

Implementation of Cloud Computing Solutions in Federal Agencies

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:00:00 EDT

While the benefits and value of the federal cloud computing policy can be debated, the world’s transition to cloud computing as an integral component of any IT infrastructure cannot be denied. The prudent government executive should, therefore, heed the lessons learned from the many private industry corporations that already have miles behind them on this journey. When identifying a potential cloud computing project, one should always count on a multi-year transition. Organizations should always use a consistent cloud opportunity identification process to reduce the risk of project failure by leveraging data from successful cloud implementations. Clients need to determine set metrics (economic, operational and service) with direct linkage to specific mission requirement(s). Use of a gate-driven cloud adoption process designed to terminate failed projects early in the project lifecycle and deliver measurable capabilities within a quick timeframe (weeks—not years) is highly recommended.

Implementation of Cloud Computing Solutions in Federal Agencies

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 09:00:00 EDT

(This is part 2 of the series entitled "Implementation of Cloud Computing Solutions in Federal Agencies" that first appeared on Forbes.com. This series provides the content of a whitepaper I recently authored. A copy of the complete whitepaper will be available at NJVC.com starting September 7, 2011.) Despite the myriad benefits of cloud computing solutions, several challenges still exist. Being a young industry, there are few tools, procedures or standard data formats or service interfaces in place to guarantee data, computer application and service portability. As evidenced with the recent situation involving the services failure of Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud, outages can be a potential risk—and can have widespread implications for consumers of cloud services. This risk becomes even more severe if a mission-critical environment could be impacted.

Implementation of Cloud Computing Solutions in Federal Agencies

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EDT

Cloud computing is a new approach in the provisioning and consumption of information technology (IT). While technology is a crucial component, the real value of cloud computing lies in its ability to enable new capabilities or in the execution of current capabilities in more efficient and effective ways. Although the current hype around cloud computing has focused on expected cost savings, the true value is really found in the mission and business enhancements these techniques can provide. When properly deployed, the cloud computing model provides greatly enhanced mission and business capability without a commensurate increase in resource (time, people or money) expenditures.

FedPlatform.org Focuses on a Government PaaS

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:58:00 EDT

With GSA now issuing ATOs and Amazon launching its own government specific cloud, IaaS for government agencies is now a reality. This next step in this "Cloud First" march is a consistent platform on which agencies can securely develop their applications. To focus on this requirement, FedPlatform.org has been formed as a collaborative initiative to help federal organizations safely learn about and evaluate PaaS technologies. The initiative supports the Federal Cloud Computing Strategy and the Federal CIO’s 25-Point Federal IT Reform Plan, which suggests that cloud technologies provide new efficiencies and substantial cost savings. The FedPlatform.org mission is to facilitate implementations that adhere to rapidly evolving cloud computing standards, with a heavy focus on interoperability, portability and security.

On The Frontlines: GovCloud and Cybersecurity

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 08:12:00 EDT

My friends at Trezza Media recently published a couple of great online documents on GovCloud and Cyber. Your should especially check out the "Cloud Chopping Made Easy" by David McClure ..... and Jim Flyzik's viewpoint on building trust in cyberspace.

GovCloud Is Now for Real!!

Sun, 03 Jul 2011 11:40:00 EDT

On Friday July 1, Infrastructure-as-a-Services for the US federal government became a reality with Authority to Operate (ATO) approval for the following vendors: Web Hosting: CGI Federal, Computer Literacy World, Eyak Technology, Computer Technologies Consultant, Savvis, and Federal Systems. Virtual Machine: Autonomic Resources, Carahsoft Technology Corp, CGI Federal, Computer Literacy World, AT&T

The Economic Impact of GovCloud

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 09:30:00 EDT

What a month! June has really been busy!! Just now getting around to doing a post about CloudExpo 2011 in New York. With over 5000 delegates in attendance, it was just a massive gathering of Clouderatti. Due to another engagement I had at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC on June 7th ( FCN/CDW-G Making Cloud Achievable), I had to leave CloudExpo after the first day. With my sincere apologies for being tardy, here is my presentation from that event.

US Army Cloud Computing Class at Ft. Gordon, GA

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 22:53:00 EDT

A few weeks ago I had the distinct pleasure of teaching yet another US Army cloud computing class. This time the venue was Ft. Gordon, GA and the students definitely got it!! Below are presentations from the excellent projects they completed. Thank you all for your focus and energy.

Seventy-Eight Agency Services Identified for Cloud Transition

Sun, 29 May 2011 18:45:00 EDT

The Office of Management and Budget recently released a list of 78 projects slated for transition to cloud over the next year. The most common application, according to a FierceGovernmentIT, is email, with 14 agencies deciding to choose a cloud version. A close second is website hosting, with 10 agencies. The move is expected to esult in over $5B in budget savings. Vivek Kundra discussed the transition last week during an appearance in front of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

NGA Sets GEOINT Strategic Direction with Earth Builder

Sun, 15 May 2011 09:50:00 EDT

Last month Google and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency started sharing details about their "GEOINT on Demand" collaboration. The project, named Earth Builder, was built specifically to enable NGA to directly use Google’s cloud-based geospatial processing power. this capability will enhance the agency's ability to provide timely, relevant and accurate geospatial intelligence to the DoD, Intelligence Community and the entire National System for Geospatial Intelligence (NSG). For those not familiar, the NSG is a unified community of geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) experts, producers and users organized around the goal of integrating technology, policies, capabilities and doctrine to produce GEOINT in a multi-intelligence environment. NGA is the Functional Manager for the NSG, providing strategic thinking, guidance and direction to the community concerning all aspects of GEOINT, from its acquisition to its utilization.

Teleology Systems Introduces CloudeFX at DoDIIS

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:59:00 EDT

Today many Government organizations are attempting to leverage cloud computing technologies to spur innovation. Most have at least one cloud service and are embracing the cloud with the promise of efficiency, flexibility, and scalability. Cloud computing is seen by many as the next wave of information technology for individuals, companies, and governments. Federal CIO Vivek Kundra has been working to cast a vision fostering an "apps economy" for open-source technologies and mandating that all agencies begin moving applications to cloud infrastructures right away. The cloud ecosystem consists of many technology vendors that offer support for public or private clouds and many of those vendors offer specific Software as a Service applications that utilize the cloud to achieve very useful results.

Cloud Computing Highlighted at DoDIIS 2011

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 22:06:00 EDT

Are you going to DoDIIS? Schedule for May 1-5, 2011 in Detroit, Michigan, the conference highlights the Defense Intelligence Agency's (DIA) commitment to developing and maintaining secure and reliable networks for Department of Defense personnel, services and information technology customers. This year's 3,000 attendees will focus on the "Secure and Collaborative Intelligence in Defense of the Nation" theme. We’ve got three elements of the cloud architecture or infrastructure for the customer’s mission focus. One is our data layer, which is having our data available and its native authoritative location so we don’t have to keep making copies of databases, if you will. The second piece is our identity and access manager, which is the regulator of who gets to see and access which data. And the third piece is the application environment, which needs to move to a widget environment where the customer can select the various tools to provide their operational capabilities and then those applications would be leveraged by the identity access manager to give them access into the appropriate data sources.”

Washington, DC, a Cloud Computing Trendsetter!

Sat, 16 Apr 2011 17:55:00 EDT

A TechJournal South article last week named Washington, DC, as a leading trendsetter in cloud computing. Citing a Microsoft sponsored survey, conducted by 7th Sense research, D.C. was highlighted as particullarly receptive to cloud computing. The survey interviewed information technology decision makers (ITDM) and found the following: 81 percent of ITDMs in Washington agree that IT must enable workers to work anywhere at any time. 46 percent of these respondents believe that cloud services can support and enable a remote workforce. 26 percent of ITDMs say the cloud enabled them to start a new line of business. 28 percent of D.C. enterprise organizations are hiring more staff with cloud computing experience 14 percent are hiring more staff in general as a result of cloud services 50 percent of D.C. ITDMs said they would be more likely to purchase a cloud solution if they could work with a certified partner * 32 percent of respondents hired vendors to assist in deploying cloud projects.

Melvin Greer Cited by IBM for Cloud Computing Innovation

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 21:49:00 EDT

“Melvin Greer, Lockheed Martin Senior Fellow has won IBM’s first ever Awarding Customer Excellence (ACE) Award for Innovation, which recognizes his work in applying Cloud computing toward the development of innovative solutions and mission applications that demonstrate creativity, resourcefulness and real-world problem solving. Mr. Greer will be presented the award by Steve Mills, IBM Senior VP and Group Executive Software & Systems on April 12th during the general session at the IBM Impact 2011 Global Conference. ”.

"GovCloud: The Book" Launched at National Press Club Event

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 22:34:00 EDT

As many of you know, today marked the official launch of my first book - GovCloud: Cloud Computing for the Business of Government. Today's venue was the National Press Club in downtown Washington, DC. Known as "The Place Where News Happens", the locale was certainly fitting as cloud computing leaders from government and industry gave the audience an update on GovCloud's progress.

"Cloud Musings on Forbes" Launched!!

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 18:18:00 EDT

Today I published my first post on Forbes.com!!

At the invitation of Bruce Upbin, Forbes.com editor, I will be contributing posts monthly. I see this not only as an honor, but as an acknowledgement of the importance of the Federal shift to cloud. As I said in today's post, the government has long been known for it's glacial speed and risk avoidance culture. It's aggressive transformation, however, represents a surprising shift towards an information technology leadership role.

Please join me on Forbes.com in discussing this important transformation with the broader business world!!

( Thank you. If you enjoyed this article, get free updates by email or RSS - KLJ )

Tech America and INSA Form Cloud Computing Advisory Groups

Sun, 06 Mar 2011 12:14:00 EST

Last week TechAmerica announced the formation of a "cloud computing commission" to advise the White House on the current plans to steer more than $20B worth of IT services toward the cloud computing model. Co-chaired by Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff and VCE CEO Michael Capellas, the commission will provide recommendations for how agencies should roll out cloud technologies and suggest changes to policies that might hinder attainment of the government's goals. While I applaud Tech America's efforts to help the government manage this important transition, my personal interest is more focused on the work being led by Bob Gourley at the Intelligence and National Security Alliance. The INSA Cloud Computing Task Force, as an element of the INSA Cyber Security Council, will focus on ways to enhance adoption of cloud computing for national security missions. According to the email announcing the formation of this group:

Federal Cloud Computing Strategy Officially Launched

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 11:45:00 EST

Federal CIO Vivek Kundra officially launched the Federal Cloud Computing Strategy today. While this is clearly not new news, the document does state the government's position in a very succinct manner. By using the cloud computing model for IT services, we will be able to reduce our data center infrastructure expenditure by approximately 30% (which contributes to the estimated $20 billion of IT spending that could be migrated to cloud computing solutions).

GEOINT's Future is in the Cloud

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 06:00:00 EST

Recently, Geospatial Intelligence Forum Magazine asked me for my thoughts on the role of cloud computing in the future of geospatial intelligence.My response was recently published in their December 2010 print issue and online.

eTechSuccess: Patterns of Success - Kevin Jackson

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 13:19:00 EST

My sincere appreciation to John Baker for the eTechSuccess: Patterns of Success interview. John and I worked together IBM as part of the Wireless Emerging Business Organization. His team and mine collaborated often in the delivery of customer solutions around the world. Through his current company, eTechSuccess, John offers his clients assistance in business development, program management, and solution analysis/design for emerging technologies. He also reviews existing software processes and/or help set up new processes to effectively implement the chosen technologies. John has a proven record of successfully using emerging technologies to solve real world business problems.

USBE&IT Winter Issue Focuses on Cyber Security

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:44:00 EST

Thank You USBE&IT Publisher Mr Tyrone Taborn for such an inspiring issue and my sincere appreciation to Mr. Frank McCoy for my inclusion in his list of Cyber visionaries! The Homeland Security, Government and Defense Edition of US Black Engineer Information Technology inspires as much as it informs. An awesome publication, from the interview with President Obama's cyber security coordinator, Mr. Howard A. Schmidt, through the cover story "Top Blacks in the Military & Defense" (which highlighted my fellow "Variations" bandmate and USNA alumni Admiral Andy Winns), to the Cyber Security Visionaries article (in which I am honored to be included).

Global GovCloud with Cisco and VCE

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 13:54:00 EST

Last week I had the awesome experience of participating in a global telepresence conference on government cloud computing. Joining me as presenters were Blake Salle, Senior Vice President of VCE, who shared a roadmap which focused on goals and objectives to better serve goverment organizations and their constituents, and Joshua McCloud, Public Sector Solutions Architect for European Markets at Cisco who facilitated the conversation amongst the global Public Sector participants.

GovCloud Predictions for 2011: Kevin Jackson

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST

Happy New Year All!! 2011 will be the breakout year for GovCloud! Pressure to reduce budget, pressure to manage I resources better and the political pressure of the next presidential election will combine to accelerate adoption. The GSA IaaS groundwork has been laid and new policies are just about ready to be released !! The US Federal government will award over $2B in cloud computing related contracts. The USDA and GSA email deals are just the beginning. GSA final approval to the 11 government IaaS awardees will open the floodgate to rapid cloud experimentation. Lack of a final 2011 Federal budget will make cloud computing one of the few viable options for executing new IT programs next year.

NIST Cloud Computing Collaboration Twiki Launches

Thu, 30 Dec 2010 17:55:00 EST

Today I received my credentials for the NIST Cloud Computing Collaboration Site. "The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been designated by Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra to accelerate the federal government’s secure adoption of cloud computing by leading efforts to develop standards and guidelines in close consultation and collaboration with standards bodies, the private sector, and other stakeholders. Computer science researchers at NIST are working on two complementary efforts to speed the government’s quick and secure adoption of cloud computing.

Vivek Kundra Unveils 25-Point IT Management Reform Program

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 20:00:00 EST

Yesterday the US Federal CIO, Vivek Kundra, unveiled an ambitious 25-point implementation plan for delivering more value to the American taxpayer. This plan focuses on execution and is designed to establish early wins. Some highlights of the implementation plan include: Turnaround or terminate at least one-third of underperforming projects in IT portfolio within the next 18 months; shift to “Cloud First” policy. Each agency will identify three “must move” services within three months, and move one of those services to the cloud within 12 month and the remaining two within 18 months.

GSA and Unisys/Google Marks GovCloud Watershed

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 08:30:00 EST

As widely reported this week, the United States General Services Administration (GSA) has awarded a contract to Unisys to create a secure cloud-based email and collaboration platform. The solution will be based on Google Apps for Government and is expected to save $15M over the next five years when compared to current staff, infrastructure, and contract support costs.

Kevin L. Jackson Elected to Intellegere Foundation Board of Trustees

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 11:31:00 EST

Kevin Jackson has been elected to serve on the Intellegere Foundation, Inc. Board of Trustees. Mr. Jackson is the editor and founder of “Government Cloud Computing” electronic magazine, and the author of “Cloud Musings,” a widely followed blog that focuses on the use of cloud computing by the Federal government. He currently serves as an Engineering Fellow with NJVC. He is a US Naval Academy graduate, with an MSEE in Computer Engineering. He holds degrees in National Security & Strategic Studies and Aerospace Engineering. Kevin has served with the National Reconnaissance Office, Operational Support Office, providing support to Navy and Marine Corps forces worldwide.

NIST Moves Forward on Cloud Computing

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 16:19:00 EST

Last week the Naional Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) held their second Cloud Computing Forum and Workshop. Skillfully shepherded by Ms. Dawn Leaf, the agency’s senior executive of cloud computing, the event reinforced the US Federal government's move towards the cloud. Of particular note to me was the cloud computing simulation model project, known as Koala, that focuses on the behavior of infrastructure-as-a-service cloud systems.

Thought Leaders in the Cloud

Sun, 07 Nov 2010 13:37:00 EST

Recently, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Mr. Robert Duffner, director of Product Management for Windows Azure, as part of his "Thought Leaders in the Cloud" series. In this interview, we discussed: * Actual government IT successes, especially using cloud computing * Deconstructing the hype around cloud computing and talking about its real characteristics and value * How clouds need a critical mass to function and provide elasticity, and how the size of the US places it in a strong position to develop these kinds of clouds * Industry transition from system integration to service integration * Use of clouds among defense departments and other organizations with other high security requirements * Synergy between cloud computing and geospatial data

NJVC, Invertix Announce Cloud Computing Demonstration at GEOINT 2010

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 21:44:00 EDT

NJVC, one of the largest providers of information technology (IT) solutions to the U.S. Department of Defense, and Invertix Corporation, a proven technology company supporting the United States Intelligence Community, will offer a joint cloud computing platform demonstration at the NJVC booth (#375) at the GEOINT 2010 Symposium, Nov. 1 – 4, in New Orleans. The portable cloud platform is also installed at NJVC Center for Technology Integration – West in O’Fallon, Ill., and an Invertix office in Northern Virginia.