Latest News from Kevin Jackson

Commercial vs Federal Cloud Computing

Sat, 02 May 2009 18:15:00 EDT

Frank Gens of IDC recently provided an excellent overview of the the new "Cloud Computing Era." His description of "cloud computing" and "cloud services" really highlights the difference between the commercial cloud computing market and the Federal cloud computing market.

An Interview with Federal CIO Nominee Vivek Kundra

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST

Bob Gourley discusses leveraging commercial technology, driving transparency and engaging citizens and rethinking notions of IT governance with the Federal CIO nominee. Originally posted in his "CTOvision" blog on February 3, 2009, Mr. Gourley has graciously provided his permission to repost this timely article on Government Cloud Computing.

Government IT & Cloud Computing: Themes for Discussion

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:15:00 EDT

A little over a week ago I put out a request to my readers to help me with my meeting with Vivek Kundra. The response has been awesome!Thank you for your suggestions and recommendations, both public and private. Below, in purely random order, are just some of the comments I've received. If you want to add your voice to the choir, I'll be taking comments through Tuesday evening, May 26th. During my meeting, I will definitely highlight this dialog and will also leave a listing of all comments for Mr. Kundra's review.

Publishing Synergy: Blog, Twitter and Ulitzer

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:45:00 EST

In the six months we've been using Ulitzer, the platform has definitely demonstrated its value in the delivery of true publishing synergy with new media. Through it, we have built an effective, responsive and fiscally conservative customer outreach program. Industry thought leadership, as measured by article readership, has exceeded all expectations. We look forward to future enhancements and will certainly leverage the many other related offerings.

Cloud Computing Debate: Booz Allen Hamilton Comments on Recent McKinsey & Co. Report

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:15:00 EDT

Booz Allen Hamilton Principals Mike Cameron and Rod Fontecilla offer their views on the March 2009 McKinsey & Co. report titled "Clearing the air on cloud computing"

Tactical Cloud Computing Panel at 1st Annual GovIT Expo

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EDT

I'm proud to announce that representatives from Lockheed Martin, SAIC, and Unisys will join me in a "Tactical Cloud Computing" Panel at SYS-CON's 1st Annual Government IT Conference & Expo in Washington DC on October 6, 2009.

As Technical Chair of this conference, my goal has been to provide useful and actionable information to the conference attendees. While the industry has engaged in a rigorous discussion around "enterprise" cloud computing, information on tactical or deployable cloud computing possibilities has been scarce. To address this, I've asked Dataline partners to join me and share their views on this issue.

Tactical Cloud Computing refers to the use of cloud computing technology and techniques for the support of localized and short-lived information access and processing requirements. Use cases could include:

“Cloudbursting” to support cyclic data processing requirements
Establishing a cloud-based collaboration environment in order to coordinate firefighting resources during a wildfire
Virtually binding shipboard IT infrastructures in order to create a battlegroup infrastructure-as-a-service platform
Virtually binding land vehicle based servers and storage resources into a battlefield data center
Dynamic provisioning of virtual cloud-based servers in order to automate exploitation and dissemination of unmanned air vehicle (UAV) streaming video feeds
This discussion panel will explore how defense, homeland security and law enforcement organizations are looking to leverage this new and exciting IT capability.

Please register and join us for this unique opportunity. First 50 registrants are eligible for a VIP pass !!

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

Cloud Computing: The Dawn of Maneuver Warfare in IT Security

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 07:45:00 EDT

The lead topic of every information technology (IT) conversation today is cloud computing. The key point within each of those conversations is inevitably cloud computing security. Although this trend is understandable, the sad part is that these conversations will tend to focus on all the standard security pros, cons and requirements. While protecting data from corruption, loss, unauthorized access, etc. are all still required characteristics of any IT infrastructure, cloud computing changes the game in a much more profound way. Although technologically, cloud computing represents an evolution, strategically it represents the introduction of maneuver warfare into the IT security dictionary.

A Tactical Cloud Computing Ontology

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 11:15:00 EDT

In an effort to encourage standards and interoperability, the cloud computing community is currently discussing architectural ontologies. Core to most approaches is an assumption of open access, public Internet connectivity and security provisioning by the cloud service provider. Solutions for the government marketplace, however, cannot make these assumptions. This article discusses an expansion of the UCSB/IBM ontology in order to explicitly address these specific critical functions.

Cloud Computing in the Obama Administration

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 07:30:00 EST

Cloud computing promises to provide seamless access to unlimited computing resources. Could it also provide the basis for a private government cloud? By developing and implementing appropriate standards and protocols for the government-wide, federated SOA layer, the National Office for Cyberspace (NOC) and a new National Security Council Cybersecurity Directorate (NSCCD)could quickly implement a federal cloud.

Playing the Cloud Computing Wargame

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 04:00:00 EDT

Cloud Computing Wargame pits multiple teams against each other in an effort to accumulate the most "mission value points". During FOSE, about 6 wargame sessions were held, with 30-50 people in each session divided into 4-6 agencies. While the wargame can in no way be used to predict or provide insight into if cloud computing is an appropriate option for any agency, it is an effective tool for helping to understand cloud computing as an operational option.

Iranian Protests Showcase Twitter, Facebook, YouTube (and Cloud Computing) !

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:20:00 EDT

In covering unfolding events in Iran, the world's most powerful news outlets have been entirely dependent on the Twitter-provided flow of text, images, and video. While this has definitely showcased the power of Twitter, Facebook and You Tube as an information channel, it also prompted me to re-read some of my September 2009 blog posts:

9/9/08 The Cloud Wins in Minneapolis at the RNC!

Little did I know that while I was watching the Republicans cheer their standard bearer inside the Xcel Energy Center that the cloud infrastructure was outside defeating the forces of civil obedience!
From "The revolution will be Twittered": "A free and public social-media website called Twitter, which publishes brief messages sent in from cell phones and computers, was a game-changer for protesters, organizers, and journalists covering the event. ....What developed was an ad hoc information system that provided a vast amount of first-hand accounts, insight and the opportunity for rumors and misinformation."
This wouldn't be possible without wireless connectivity, a virtualized IT infrastructure and open source application technology. In short, it wouldn't be possible without the underlying cloud computing technologies.

9/10/08 Ambient Awareness. The cloud killer app?

In the September 5th New York Times article, "Brave New World of Digital Intimacy", Clive Thompson really got me thinking about how cloud computing, social networking sites like Facebook and adhoc information networking tools like Twitter are combining to mold our future social interactions.
This social transformation may also provide new tools to address situational awareness requirements within the national security community.While a Twitter stream of consciousness may, on the surface, seem useless, the paradox of ambient awareness may make such technologies incredibly useful.

9/23/08 Google, GeoEye, Twitter. What a Combination!

According to their press release, GeoEye-1 will be able to collect images with a ground resolution of 0.41-meters or 16 inches in the panchromatic, or black-and-white mode, and collect multi spectral, or color imagery, at 1.65-meter resolution. (Under current government rules, the company can only offer the public half-meter images.)...
All you need now is some real-time queuing from a Twitter-powered ad-hoc information network and you really got something going.

Follow me on http://Twitter.com/Kevin_Jackson

NCOIC Explores Cloud Computing

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:45:00 EST

The NCOIC has started an ad hoc working group on cloud computing focused on the technical, operational and business requirements of a "federal-grade" cloud infrastructure. The working group also plans to participate in the Joint CCIF/OMG Cloud Interoperability Workshop on March 23rd in Washington, DC.

Federal Agencies Pick Up Their Interest in Cloud Computing

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 03:00:00 EDT

Federal agencies are now officially exploring cloud computing as an option for some of their IT requirements. Until now most of these efforts have been quietly pursued under existing contract as exploratory pilots. Programs of record are now looking to take cloud computing into the mainstream.

Should My Government Agency Consider Using Cloud Computing?

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 07:06:00 EST

The agency decision process for using cloud computing is no different than any other IT management decision. “Cloud IT” options should be compared to “Traditional IT” approaches. As Frank Gens of IDC alluded to when he framed the cloud opportunity for IT suppliers, agencies have four options when deciding if and how to improve their IT infrastructure.

Cloud Computing Wargames !

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 23:45:00 EST

Booz Allen Hamilton will debut their Cloud Computing Wargame (CCW) at FOSE 2009. CCW applies simulation techniques to model “Traditional IT” and “Cloud Computing” environments and dynamically maps them against internal, community, and Cloud-based resources. The simulation represent real-life situations facing IT management daily, especially in an environment of rapid technological and mission change against a backdrop of resource variability.

GovCloud Is Coming: My Meeting with Mr. Vivek Kundra

Sat, 30 May 2009 06:30:00 EDT

Earlier this week I had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to have a private meeting with Mr. Vivek Kundra. Although my time with him and Mr. Gary Washington (OMB/Egov &IT Internal Efficiency and Effectiveness Portfolio Manager) was short, their focus and mission were perfectly clear.

Maneuver Warfare in IT: A Cheerleading Pundit

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 09:44:00 EDT

The Twitter conversation between Christofer Hoff and I went like this:

Christofer - I haven't formally blogged a resp. (yet) to @Kevin_Jackson on his 'maneuver warfare in IT' Not just a cultural shift but a huge tech. one

Kevin - @Beaker I'm looking forward to your comments.

Christofer - @Kevin_Jackson I want them to be constructive, so I'll do my best. I'm having trouble with the reality distortion field vs. unicorns ;)

Kevin - @Beaker LOL

I strongly recommend that you read his response titled "Cloud Computing Security: (Orchestral) Maneuvers In the Dark?". It begins:

"I enjoyed Kevin’s piece but struggled with how I might respond: cheerleader or pundit. I tried for a bit of both."

The challenges he had with my article, include:

Mixing tenses in some key spots seemed to imply that out of the box today, Cloud Computing can deliver on the promises Kevin is describing now. Given the audience, this can lead to unachievable expectations
The disconnect between the public, private and military sectors with an over-reliance on military analogies as a model representing an ideal state of security operations and strategy can be startling
Unrealistic portrayals of where we are with the maturity of Cloud/virtualization mobility, portability, interoperability and security capabilities

His last couple of paragraphs, however, really brings it home:

"It’s absolutely a cultural issue, but we must strive to be realistic about where we are with Cloud and security technology and capabilities as aligned. As someone who’s spent the last 15 years in IT/Security, I can say that this is NOT the “…dawning of a new day in IT security,” rather it’s still dark out and will be for quite some time. There is indeed opportunity to utilize Cloud and virtualization to react better, faster and more efficiently, but let’s not pretend we’re treating the problem when what we’re doing is making the symptoms less noticeable.

I am absolutely bullish on Cloud, but not Cloud Security as it stands, at least not until we make headway toward fundamentally fixing the foundational problems we have that allow the problems to occur in the first place."

Please read his post and comment. This is a GOOD conversation !!

An Ontology for Tactical Cloud Computing

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:00:00 EDT

On Tuesday I was in San Diego at the Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) Workshop. SISO is an international organization dedicated to the promotion of modeling and simulation (M&S) interoperability and reuse for the benefit of a broad range of M&S communities. SISO's Conference Committee organizes Simulation Interoperability Workshops (SIWs) in the US and Europe. SISO's Standards Activity Committee develops and supports simulation interoperability standards, both independently and in conjunction with other organizations. SISO is recognized as a Standards Development Organization (SDO) by NATO and as a Standards Sponsor by IEEE.

Pentagon Reviews Unisys Stealth

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:45:00 EDT

According to a Newtworkworld.com article, the United States Joint Forces Command (USJFC) is currently evaluating Unisys Stealth technology at the Joint Transformation Command for Intelligence (JTC-I) in Suffolk, Virginia.

"Unisys Stealth Solution for Network lets an organization set up “communities of interest” through a group policy using Microsoft Active Directory, with session-specific encryption keys scrambling data that can only be decrypted by those belonging to each group. Stealth works to “bit-split” data into multiple packets and re-assemble it to authorized users, which alone can decrypt it."

A Unisys press release further states that USJFCOM will be testing "cryptographic bit-splitting" as a way to converge DoD Global Information Grid networks operating at different security levels into a single network infrastructure.

"This technology can address a longstanding challenge for the Department of Defense and other government agencies: how to simplify their networks without sacrificing security, while delivering significant cost savings," said Jim Geiger, managing partner, Department of Defense, Unisys Federal Systems. "Unisys will draw upon its extensive experience with the Unisys Stealth Solution for Networks to support the Joint Forces Command and the Joint Transformation Command for Intelligence in this pioneering effort to promote secure data and information sharing among various communities within the DoD. This solution is now the double-encryption security mechanism protecting the Unisys Secure Cloud solution."

In my December 2008 post I described cryptographic bit splitting as a new approach for securing information. Its advantages inclue:

Enhanced security from moving shares of the data to different locations on one or more data depositories or storage devices (different logical, physical or geographical locations
Shares of data can be split physically and under the control of different personnel reducing the possibility of compromising the data.
A rigorous combination of the steps is used to secure data providing a comprehensive process of maintaining security of sensitive data.
Data is encrypted with a secure key and split into one or more shares
Lack of a single physical location towards which to focus an attack

My company, Dataline LLC, is also leveraging this technology during the Trident Warrior '10 fall lab experimentation period. As I posted in US Navy Experiment With Secure Cloud Computing, the Secure Cloud Computing experiment has been designed to explore the use of a commercial Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) platform as a viable means of supporting a specified subset of US Navy mission requirements for global connectivity, server failover and application access. Goals for the experiment include:

Demonstrating the establishment and use of trusted communication paths on a global public computing infrastructure; and
Demonstrating dynamic, mission driven, provisioning of information via trusted communication paths on a global public computing infrastructure

I'll keep you posted on the outcome of both DoD activities.

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

US Navy Experiments with Secure Cloud Computing

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 05:15:00 EDT

This week in San Diego, CA the US Navy held the initial planning conference for Trident Warrior '10. The Trident Warrior series is the premier annual FORCEnet Sea Trial Event sponsored by Naval Network Warfare Command (NETWARCOM). FORCEnet’s experimental results are incorporated into a definitive technical report used to develop Military Utility Assessment (MUA) recommendations. This report is provided to the Sea Trial Executive Steering Group (STESG) for consideration and acquisition recommendations.

The primary goal of FORCEnet experimentation is to influence accelerated fielding of improved Command and Control (C2) capabilities to the fleet through Program of Record (POR) acceleration or transition of new technologies into PORs. Additional goals include evaluating Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTP) that best exploit, promote, expand, and incorporate new FORCEnet capabilities in support of optimizing execution of Naval operations; increasing warfighter effectiveness through discovery and development of enhanced capabilities; and encouraging Government, industry, and academia use of experimentation to advance new concepts and capabilities.

This year, for the first time, the event has been expanded to include a lab-based venue designed to experiment with lower Technology Readiness Level (TRL) candidates. The goal of this added activity is to demonstrate technologies that have the potential to fill mid- and far-term warfighting gaps. One of these lab-based experiments is secure cloud computing.

Sponsored by Dataline, LLC, the Secure Cloud Computing experiment has been designed to explore the use of a commercial Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) platform as a viable means of supporting a specified subset of US Navy mission requirements for global connectivity, server failover and application access. Goals for the experiment include:

Demonstrating the establishment and use of trusted communication paths on a global public computing infrastructure; and
Demonstrating dynamic, mission driven, provisioning of information via trusted communication paths on a global public computing infrastructure

Working with Amazon Web Services and Security First Corporation, the Dataline-led team will explore the ability of cloud computing technologies to support humanitarian assistance and disaster relief military missions. As currently planned, the test scenario will simulate the secure use of a cloud-based collaboration environment. Both synchronous and asynchronous collaboration technologies will be leveraged. Information and data access among multiple operational groups will be dynamically managed based on simulated ad-hoc mission requirements. Expected mission advantages of this new approach include:

Increased IT infrastructure resiliency through the use of dynamic and automatic provisioning of compute and storage resources;
The ability to provide virtually unlimited IT infrastructure scalability through the elastic nature of an infrastructure-as-a-service platform; and
Increased mission flexibility through a globally distributed and accessible IT infrastructure that is also open to use by Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), civilian first responders and non-US military forces.

The use of a government sponsored "Red Team" is also being requested as a means of validating the security of the proposed infrastructure.

For further information on the Trident Warrior lab based experiments, please contact LCDR Caroline Lahman ( caroline.lahman@navy.mil )

For further information on the Dataline Secure Cloud Computing experiment, please contact Kevin Jackson (kevin.jackson@dataline.com)

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

TRIDENT WARRIOR '09

Should My Agency Consider Using Cloud Computing?

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:45:00 EST

This is clearly the question on the minds and lips of every government IT decsionmaker in town. Why should a government agency even consider cloud computing? In reality, the decision process is no...

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Cloud Computing Security to Drive US Gov't IT Spending

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:15:00 EDT

According to a PC World article, cloud computing and cybersecurity will be the high-growth areas for government IT spending over the next few years. The analysis and consulting firm Input projected that the federal government's cloud-computing market will grow by 27 percent over the next five years, with spending of more than $1 billion in 2014. Cybersecurity spending is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of more than 8 percent, from $8.2 billion this year to $12.2 billion in 2014.

President Obama's 2010 Budget Highlights Cloud Computing

Tue, 12 May 2009 14:22:00 EDT

President Obama's 2010 Budget (pp. 157-158) has highlighted cloud computing as a key tool for improving innovation, efficiency and effectiveness in Federal IT.

" 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."

In addressing common concerns around security, the document takes this challenge on by appropriately charging agencies to have a proactive risk management plan.

"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. "

The administrations plans to transform the Federal IT infrastructure by "virtualizing data centers, consolidating data centers and operations, and ultimately adopting a cloud-computing business model". The effort will include multiple pilots and a major new initiative led by the Federal CIO, Vivek Kundra, and supported by the Federal CIO council.

What a great day for Federal Cloud Computing !!

Cloud Computing and the Process Integration Era

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:52:00 EST

In fulfilling this role, the ACT-IAC Transition Study Group recently released a paper titled "Returning Innovation to the Federal Government with Information Technology". Since the Obama's administration stated goals include the "use [of] technology to create a more transparent and connected democracy" and the employment of technology "to solve our nation's most pressing problems", this group's recommendations should certainly be considered.

Two Days with AWS Federal

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:00:00 EDT

Today, I start two days of training with Amazon Web Services (AWS) Federal. If that's the first time you've ever heard about an AWS Federal division, your not alone. Held in downtown Washington, DC the course was invite-only and attendance was IT services firms that had demonstrated a clear track record of success in the Federal market. The companies invited to this inaugural session were:

Army Deputy CIO Cites Army/DISA Cloud Computing Partnership

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:30:00 EST

This week's Federal Executive Forum taping highlighted collaboration between DISA and the Army on the service's transition to cloud computing. Army Deputy Chief Information Officer Mike Krieger called it a partnership, important to the support of Department of Defense Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) activities.

Joining him on the program was:

Robert Carey - Navy Chief Information Officer; and
Henry Sienkiewcz- Technical Program Director, Computer Services, Defense Information Systems Agency

The panel discussed the progress of Cloud Computing in the Federal Government, best practices including the DISA RACE program, challenges still ahead, lessons learned, and the vision for the future. The complete show will be webcast on November 10, 2009 at 2:00 pm.

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

Leading Federal Integrators Address Tactical Cloud Computing

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:45:00 EDT

Yesterday during the first annual Government IT Conference and Expo, tactical cloud computing was cited as a critical component within this new paradigm. Joining me to address the issue were:

Kartik Mecheri, the Chief Technologist for a large government contract for Unisys Federal Division. He is a leader in designing transformational modernization strategies building on enterprise SOA, BPMS, and asset re-use;
Melvin Greer, Senior Research Engineer, SOA / Cloud Computing Chief Architect, and Director SOA Competency Center, Lockheed Martin, Advanced Technologies Office; and
David Ayoub, the CTO for the GEOINT Research Development & Technology Division of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) in McLean, Virginia.

Links to presentations from the event are below:

Dataline SOA-R

SAIC Next-Gen Transformational IT

Unisys Service Oriented Self Adaptive Systems

Lockheed Martin Deployment Cloud Design Patterns

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

NCOIC Officially Launches Cloud Computing Working Group

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 05:00:00 EDT

On Wednesday, 9 September 2009 the Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium (NCOIC) Technical Council formally approved the creation of a Cloud Computing Working Group (CCWG). Organizationally this new working group will operate as part of the Specialized Frameworks Functional Team.

The initial CCWG charter provides the following direction to the group:

Collaboration & engagement with government Cloud activities, standard bodies, vendors and NCOIC member companies to look at standards-based Cloud Computing to achieve capabilities such as peer-to-peer interoperability, improved usability and trust of the cloud, and portability across clouds.
Document current state of best practices, architectures and blue prints for commercially-available implementations, including examining security implications and how to implement an internal cloud.

- “In-Field”, Edge, and Enterprise Clouds - dynamic integration of capability, resource, and accepted configurations to solve a business/operational need

- “Infrastructure cloud" standards to develop consensus across vendors to reduce lock-in to a given vendor or platform.

- Develop Net-Centric Patterns on well developed instances

- Layered Quality of Service for Cloud Computing

Explore the effects between the cloud computing paradigm and other NCOIC deliverables like NIF, NCAT etc., including adding our Cloud Computing taxonomy to the NCOIC Lexicon.

Kevin Jackson (Dataline, LLC) will serve as the groups interim chairman while Robert Marcus (SRI International) was designated as the interim Vice-Chairman. Formal elections for all leadership positions will be scheduled within the month.

The CCWG is enjoying strong NCOIC membership support with a roster that includes representation from the following companies:

BAE Systems
Boeing
Cisco Systems
Dataline, LLC
EADS
Finmeccanica
Harris Corporation
IBM
Lockheed Martin Corporation
OASD(NII) / DoD CIO
SRI International
The MITRE Corporation

For additional information, feel free to contact any of the following:

Kevin Jackson, kevin.jackson@dataline.com
Robert Marcus, robert.marcus@sri.com
TIm Thomas, tim.thomas@ncoic.org

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

Cloud Shows Promise During Navy Trident Warrior Exercise

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST

During a recent interview, Robert Carey, Navy Chief Information Officer, also stated that cloud computing offered real value to the Navy. Citing that both the Navy Next Generation Enterprise Network (NGEN) and Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) programs will leverage cloud computing, he envisioned a future day when "Grey clouds" within a ship's hull would eventually transition to clouds within the battle group. The increased IT efficiency delivered through cloud computing would also enhance mission accomplishment by making more resources available for investment into naval mission platforms (ships and planes). Mr. Carey sees ready access to authoritative data from the cloud as an important enabler to a real-time/near real-time decision making process, saying that the cloud delivers the ability to have a ubiquitous computing environment and interoperability. After observing the experiment, SPAWAR representatives showed similar sentiments, saying that the Navy was actively considering the use of cloud computing technologies as part of its Naval Networks Enterprise-2016 strategy

"Hyper-Standardized" Cloud Environment

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST

Henry Sienkiewcz, DISA Computer Services Technical Director, credits the cloud computing "hyper-standardized" environment for the improvement they have been able to deliver through their cloud computing initiative. During remarks at this week's Federal Executive Forum taping, he specified faster service delivery, higher quality, lower cost and increased security as important cloud computing benefits.

Secure Cloud Computing on Federal News Radio

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 22:15:00 EDT

Last week the Trezza Media Group, Flyzik Group and Federal News Radio combined to produce an outstanding Federal Executive Forum on Secure Cloud Computing. Moderated by Jim Flyzik, panelist included

Navy CIO Discusses Cloud Computing

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:00:00 EST

During this week's Federal Executive Forum taping, Navy CIO Robert Carey discussed his views on cloud computing. Stating that the NGEN and CANES (Navy Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services) programs will both leverage cloud computing, he also describes a future of "grey clouds" on each ship.

Joining him on the program was:

Mike Krieger- Army Deputy Chief Information Officer, Office of the Secretary of the Army
Henry Sienkiewcz- Technical Program Director, Computer Services, Defense Information Systems Agency

The panel discussed the progress of Cloud Computing in the Federal Government, best practices including the DISA RACE program, challenges still ahead, lessons learned, and the vision for the future.

The complete show will be webcast on November 10, 2009 at 2:00 pm.

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

Government Cloud Computing Value Survey

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:15:00 EST

As part of a continuing Government Cloud computing education program, Dataline, LLC has released a Government Cloud Computing Value Survey. This online resource has been designed as an aid to help Federal agencies explore the value of cloud computing. Through a 15 minute interactive session.

GSA, DoD and NCOIC to Collaborate

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:23:00 EDT

Yesterday, during the NCOIC Cloud Computing Workshop, collaboration seemed to be the focus as Katie Lewin, GSA Cloud Computing Initiative Program manager, and Dan Risacher, DoD Cloud Computing Storefront project lead, both offered to collaborate on cloud computing with the Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium (NCOIC). As the interim chairman of the NCOIC Cloud Computing Working Group (CCWG), I welcomed the offer and promised that the NCOIC will do it's part and serve as their "industry panel" in this quickly evolving space.

In line with the NCOIC mission, the CCWG was chartered to collaborate and engage with other cloud activities to look at standards-based solutions specifically for government mission areas. The overarching goal is to ensure peer-to-peer cloud interoperability, improve usability/trust of the cloud and establish portability across clouds. In support of the established NCOIC Integrated Project Teams (IPTs), the CCWG will work to establishment cloud computing standards in the following mission areas:

Aviation
Command, Control & Communications Interoperability
Net Enabled Emergency Response
Sense & Respond Logistics
Maritime; and
Cyber Security

To accomplish it's task, CCWG member have identified current industry activities as input sources to specific NCOIC deliverables. This roadmap will be used to initially guide the working groups activities.

Yesterday's NCOIC Cloud Computing Workshop impressive list of speakers included:

Katie Lewin, Chief of Staff, Program Manager, Cloud Computing Initiative GSA Office of the Chief Information Officer - Federal Cloud Initiative
Brand Niemann - Senior Enterprise Architect, US EPA - Semantic Cloud Computing & Open Linked Data Pattern
Dan Risacher Enterprise Services & Integration Office of the DoD CIO - Cloud Computing and the DoD CIO Storefront
MG Stephen Gross (USAFR) NEER IPT Chair Deputy Director Deloitte & Touche Center for Cyber Innovation - Using a Cloud Computing Model to Establish Net-Enabled Emergency Response (NEER) Core Services
Dr. Craig A. Lee, President, Open Grid Forum - Driving Coordination and Progress in Cloud Standards
Nils Puhlmann, Cloud Security Alliance - Cloud Security
Peter Mell, NIST, Information Technology Laboratory - A Roadmap for Cloud Standards
Robert Vietmeyer, Forge.mil Project Director - Forge.mil Overview
John Willis - Cloud Computing Use Case Group - Cloud Computing Use Cases

For further information on the NCOIC Cloud Computing Working Group, please contact Tim Thomas, tim.thomas@ncoic.org (membership) or Patricia Perlini, patricia.perlini@verizon.net (Public Relations).

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

Navy NGEN and Cloud Computing

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:29:00 EDT

I spent half of today in downtown DC at the Navy Next Generation Enterprise Network (NGEN) Industry Day. In case you're not familiar with NGEN, this project will be the follow-on to the Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) and represents the Navy's first step towards achieving a future vision of a fully integrated Naval Networking Environment (NNE). NMCI itself is the world's largest intranet 700,000 accounts.

Among other things, not the least of which was a year-long program delay, RADM Bill Goodwin, NGEN Program manager, made it a point to highlight an interest in cloud computing.

While on the surface this may seem pretty benign, I see this statement as a strong indicator of how fast cloud computing has made itself part of the DoD's IT procurement lexicon.

GO CLOUD !!

AFCEA: Cyberspace at the Cross Roads

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 09:15:00 EST

Starting December 2, 2009, the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) will be putting on a two-day cyberspace conference. Titled "Cyberspace at the Cross Roads: The Intersection of Cyber, National and Economic Security", speakers, panelists and attendees will further the dialogue between government and the private sector on key policy and technology barriers currently limiting our ability to combat the threat effectively. This program focuses on furthering the understanding of the cyber security operating environment, helping to focus the community on current cyber policy and technology initiatives, and highlighting the long term vision for improving our cyber security posture.

On Thursday, December 3rd, from 10:30a-12:n EST, I'm honored to be participating in a panel that asks the question "How do we improve cyber security at the edge?". This session will address ideas and innovations for extending cyber security beyond the classic Defense in Depth paradigm. Presenters from industry, academia, and government will discuss innovative approaches to extend cyber security to the edge of the network. Among other things, I plan to address the concept of using cloud computing to implement "maneuver warfare" for cyber defense. (See "Cloud Computing: The Dawn of Maneuver Warfare in IT Security" and "Expanding Maneuver Warfare in IT").

Moderated by Dr. J. Greg Hanson, Executive Vice President for Defense Homeland Security, Criterion Systems, other members of the panel are:

Mr. Bob Carlson, Executive Vice President, Criterion Systems;
Mr. Charles Dodd, CTO, Nicor Global; and
Mr. Ian Harper, Cyber Functional Chief Architect, CACI.

For more information and to register, go to http://www.afcea.org/events/solutions/09/cyber/intro.asp

If you can't attend in person, the event will also be broadcast over the web. Just go to http://www.afcea.org/events/solutions/09/cyber/webcast.asp

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

Government Cloud Economics

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:15:00 EST

In the The Economics of Cloud Computing, Gwen Morton and Ted Alford have published an EXCELLENT economic evaluation of the federal government's push to cloud computing. Anyone interested in this market should definitely read it, analyse it, and believe it !! The conclusion acknowledges the value of cloud computing, but also offers these practical considerations:

It will take, on average, 18-24 months for most agencies to redirect funding to support this transition, given the budget process.

Some up-front investment will be required, even for agencies seeking to take advantage of public cloud options.

Implementations may take several years, depending on the size of the agency and the complexity of the cloud model it selects (i.e., public, private, or hybrid).

It could take as long as 4 years for the accumulated savings from agency investments in cloud computing to offset the initial investment costs; this timeframe could be longer if implementations are improperly planned or inefficiently executed.

Final recommendations are:

OMB, GSA, and other organizations, such as National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), should provide timely, well-coordinated support-in the form of necessary standards, guidance, policy decisions, and issue resolution-to ensure agencies have the necessary tools to efficiently plan and carry out migrations to cloud environments. As the length of the migration period increases, the potential economic benefits of the migration decrease.

OMB and GSA should seek to identify those agencies with the highest near-term IT costs and expedite their migration to the cloud.

To encourage steady progress, OMB should establish a combination of incentives and disincentives; e.g., consider allowing agencies to retain a small percentage of any savings realized from cloud computing for investments in future initiatives. To monitor progress and heighten transparency and accountability, OMB could incorporate cloud-related metrics into the new government-wide IT dashboard.

Agencies should consider which of the high-level scenarios described in this article best suits their needs, with the understanding that regardless of scenario chosen, proper planning and efficient execution are critical success factors from an economic perspective.

Given the significant impact of scale efficiencies, agencies selecting a private cloud approach should fully explore the potential for interdepartmental and interagency collaboration and investment (consistent with emerging OMB and GSA guidance). This, in effect, leads to the fourth cloud deployment model-the community cloud. A community cloud is a collaboration between private cloud operators to share resources and services.

Agencies should identify the aspects of their current IT workload that can be transitioned to the cloud in the near term to yield "early wins" to help build momentum and support for the migration to cloud computing.

Definitely a must read !!

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

Cloud & The Government Session at Cloud Computing Expo

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 22:15:00 EST

Federal government organizations have typically been viewed as cautious adopters of new technologies. However, as expressed by now President Obama's transition team , cloud computing has captured the attention of many government IT decision makers. The U.S. Defense Department’s Defense Information System Agency is, in fact, already fielding a cloud computing infrastructure. Learn what a recent government cloud computing survey has discovered about trends in this important market segment.

Booz Allen Hamilton Lays Out Path To Cloud

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:00:00 EDT

Now that cloud computing is seen as a viable technology for the government marketplace, management consulting leader Booz Allen Hamilton is now providing cloud transition guidance. In his article "Cloud Computing: A Transition Methodology", BAH Principal Rod Fontecilla offers a two phased approach for those interested in exploring this option.

Vivek Kundra: "Engage the American People in their Daily Digital Lives"

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EDT

Today I attended a very impressive talk by the Federal CIO, Mr. Vivek Kundra at a Northern Virginia Technology Council Public Policy event. His open and "matter of fact" approach to explaining the coming government IT transformation was focused and direct.

Could Cloud Computing Cost More?

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:00:00 EDT

In a recent conference, analyst William Forrest says that large companies could end up paying more than twice as much by using cloud based services. According to a Forbes.com report, Deflating The Cloud, a study focused on a McKinsey & Co. financial services client showed that the financial firm would be paying 150% more for cloud-based services versus owning the infrastructure.

"Much of cloud computing's misplaced hype, contends Forrest, comes from the assumption that businesses that make the switch will be able to do away with their entire IT department, an expensive collection of personnel. But in his analysis of McKinsey's financial services client, Forrest found that only around 15% of the company's 1,700 or so IT employees had hands-on access to hardware and software--most worked in support or other administrative areas. That means moving to Amazon's service would only cut about 200 full-time workers, hardly the savings chief information officers might imagine."

Others, including Amy Wohl leading analyst at Wohl Associates, disagree arguing that Forrest's analysis leaves out the value of avoiding large capital outlays and ignores the flexibility inherent in cloud computing.

This is actually a good debate. The economic value of cloud computing needs to be studied carefully. Cloud computing is not the answer to all IT ills and if this market is to be successful, both the pros and cons must be well understood.

Federal Cloud Computing Heating Up !

Thu, 07 May 2009 16:33:00 EDT

As fellow blogger Reuven Cohen mentions in his post, Federal cloud computing is indeed heating up:

Vivek Kundra held a US Federal Government Cloud Computing Summit yesterday
The Federal CIO Council is officially studying effective uses of cloud computing
According to Network World, an INPUT study places Federal spend on cloud services at $277M in 2008 growing to $793M by 2013
Patrick Stingley has been named as the CTO, Federal Cloud for GSA
NIST has reveled their draft definition of cloud computing (see below)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Draft NIST Working Definition of Cloud Computing

4-24-09

Peter Mell and Tim Grance - National Institute of Standards and Technology, Information Technology Laboratory

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.

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.

Key Characteristics:

On-demand self-service. A consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed without requiring human interaction with each service’s provider.
Ubiquitous network access. Capabilities are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).
Location independent resource pooling. The provider’s computing resources are pooled to serve all consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to consumer demand. The customer generally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources. Examples of resources include storage, processing, memory, network bandwidth, and virtual machines.
Rapid elasticity. Capabilities can be rapidly and elastically provisioned to quickly scale up and rapidly released to quickly scale down. To the consumer, the capabilities available for rent often appear to be infinite and can be purchased in any quantity at any time.
Pay per use. Capabilities are charged using a metered, fee-for-service, or advertising based billing model to promote optimization of resource use. Examples are measuring the storage, bandwidth, and computing resources consumed and charging for the number of active user accounts per month. Clouds within an organization accrue cost between business units and may or may not use actual currency.

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.

Delivery Models:

Cloud Software as a Service (SaaS). The capability provided to the consumer is to use the provider’s applications running on a cloud infrastructure and accessible from various client devices through a thin client interface such as a Web browser (e.g., web-based email). The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure, network, servers, operating systems, storage, or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exception of limited user-specific application configuration settings.
Cloud Platform as a Service (PaaS). The capability provided to the consumer is to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created applications using programming languages and tools supported by the provider (e.g., java, python, .Net). The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure, network, servers, operating systems, or storage, but the consumer has control over the deployed applications and possibly application hosting environment configurations.
Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). The capability provided to the consumer is to rent processing, storage, networks, and other fundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy and run arbitrary software, which can include operating systems and applications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage, deployed applications, and possibly select networking components (e.g., firewalls, load balancers).

Deployment Models:

Private cloud. The cloud infrastructure is owned or leased by a single organization and is operated solely for that organization.
Community cloud. The cloud infrastructure is shared by several organizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns (e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and compliance considerations).
Public cloud. The cloud infrastructure is owned by an organization selling cloud services to the general public or to a large industry group.
Hybrid cloud. The cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more clouds (internal, community, or public) that remain unique entities but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting).

Each deployment model instance has one of two types: internal or external. Internal clouds reside within an organizations network security perimeter and external clouds reside outside the same perimeter.

Please Help Me Plan My Meeting With Mr. Vivek Kundra

Mon, 18 May 2009 12:59:00 EDT

A couple of weeks ago, I was offered a chance to meet Mr. Vivek Kundra at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in downtown Washington, DC. Needless to say, I was honored to be given the opportunity. Although I was clear on my own views of how the Federal government could use cloud computing, the Obama administration's plans were, at that time, anything but certain. What a difference a week makes !

INPUT FedFocus 2010

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:15:00 EST

Please join me at the 7th Annual FedFocus Conference, November 5, 2009, at the Ritz Carlton in McLean, VA. This conference has been designed to provide crucial information on upcoming federal government procurement plans. I will be the morning keynote, speaking on the use of cloud computing technologies to increase government efficiency and transparency. The rest of the day's speakers include:

Vish Sankaran,Program Director, Federal Health Architecture, Officer of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology,U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (featured here on June 22nd)

Jim Borland,Special Advisor for Health IT,Office of the Commissioner, Social Security Administration (featured here on June 25th)

Capt. Michael Weiner,Medical Corps, U.S. Navy, Acting Deputy Program Manager and Chief Medical Officer, Defense Health Information Management System

Bruce McConnell,Cybersecurity Counselor to Deputy Under Secretary Philip Reitinger, National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD),U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS Asst. Sec. for Cybersecurity Greg Schaffer featured here August 11th)

David W. Stender, CISSP,Associate Chief Information Officer for Cyber Security, Chief Information Security Officer,Internal Revenue Service

Dr. Ron Ross,Senior Computer Scientist and Information Security Researcher, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Dr. Richard W. Etter, CISSP,Acting Senior Information Assurance Officer, Department of the Navy

Pete Crichlow,IT Security Staff, US Department of Justice

The day's highlights will also include an in-depth review of the top 20 federal opportunities for 2010, budget outlook for civilian and defense spending in 2010, national cybersecurity initiative and implications for the market and a Health IT forecast.

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

EuroCloud Launches

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:30:00 EDT

Congratulations to Pierre-Jose Billotte for the successful launch of EuroCloud ! Established as a pan European network, EuroCloud are communities that represent a knowledgeable network of companies engaged local and European activities related to SaaS and cloud computing. The network is organized in two tiers with a national level (France, Spain, England, Belgium, etc.) and a European level. The national level focuses on local topics while the European level addresses European topics,under the EuroCloud brand (or another if appropriate in a national setting). Only companies who have an interest in Cloud Computing and participate in the Cloud ecosystem can be members of the network. EuroCloud goals include:

DoD, DHS and FBI Highlight Identity Management Interoperability

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EDT

During this week's Federal Executive Forum, key decision makers from DoD, DHS and FBI highlighted identity management interoperability as their key priority for 2010. Panelist included:

Robert Mocny, Acting Director, US-VISIT Program Department of Homeland Security;
Stephen Morris, Criminal Justice Information Services Division, FBI; and
Thomas Dee, Director, Defense Biometrics, Office of the Secretary of Defense

In fulfilling his responsibility for provide policy and programmatic oversight on DoD biometric programs, Mr. Dee indicated that his priority was to institutionalize proven identity management capabilities honed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr. Morris' top priority is to establish interoperability among DoD, FBI and DHS biometric databases even though information is already shared daily during millions of transactions.

Citing the 10-finger print match capability with the FBI as a major improvement, Mr. Mocny echoed the other panelist adding that the next priority is to get a hardwire between the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS), the DHS Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) and the DoD Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS).

The complete show, "Identity Management-Progress & Best Practices", will be webcast on October 27, 2009 at 2:00 pm.

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

CIA's Jill Tummler Singer Newest Ulitzer Author

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:30:00 EDT

Jill Tummler Singer, Deputy Chief Information Officer at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), is now a Ulitzer author. Appointed in November 2006, Ms Singer is responsible for ensuring CIA has the information, technology, and infrastructure necessary to effectively execute its missions. Prior to her appointment as Deputy CIO, she served as the Director of the Diplomatic Telecommunications Service (DTS), United States Department of State, and was responsible for global network services to US foreign missions.

Twitter Under Denial of Service Attack

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:30:00 EDT

Multiple sources are reporting that Twitter continues to be under a denial of service attack. Some are speculating that this represents the power of a coordinated bot network attack. For the government community it is also a demonstration of what a well organized adversary can do against a major website. Since Twitter is a cloud application on top of Amazon Web Services, my earlier thoughts explained in Cloud Computing: The Dawn of Maneuver Warfare in IT Security quickly come to mind.

GovIT Expo Highlights Cloud Computing

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:15:00 EDT

I happy to announce my appointment by SYS-CON to be the Technical Chair of the 1st Annual Government IT Conference & Expo. This event is a 1-day deep dive into how cloud computing is changing the way that Federal agencies leverage, procure and utilize IT. GovITExpo, which is being held October 6, 2009 in Washington, DC, builds on the success of SYS-CON's Cloud Computing Expo.

SYS-CON.TV Power Panel: The Business Value of Cloud Computing

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 09:45:00 EDT

Jeremy Geelan hosts an excellent panel on cloud computing business value featuring: Werner Vogels, CTO of Amazon.com, John Engates, CTO of Rackspace, Rod Fontecilla of Booz Allen Hamilton, and Hal Stern, SVP & CTO of Sun's Global Sales Group.