GiGi Schumm,
Vice President and General Manager, Public Sector, Symantec Corp.

Awareness overall is quite high, and a survey we took at a recent government symposium reflected that. Of the more than 1,100 participants, our sample indicates that 15 percent said they had no plans to implement cloud applications, platforms or infrastructure. However, as you drill down into areas below that overall awareness into what’s needed to have a successful cloud implementation, or what applications are more appropriate to move to the cloud, at that level of detail I think there’s a lot more confusion and uncertainty.

Tom Ruff,
Vice President, Public Sector, Akamai Technologies, Inc.

I believe the government has done a remarkable job in creating overall awareness around the cloud, and certainly about the advantages that it can bring to the federal market. Since Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra’s announcement last fall regarding cloud computing, there have been a multitude of initiatives to create awareness about the cloud. Specifically, there has been a strong push to define the cloud, as well as highlighting its advantages and how to maximize ROI for cloud initiatives.

The level of awareness about cloud computing differs from agency to agency, but overall I think federal agencies are further along than the private sector, given the government’s proactive stance on the subject.

Richard W. Johnson,
Chief Technology Officer and Vice President, Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions

While there may be a general understanding of cloud computing in government, a recent survey we conducted with Government IT leaders in collaboration with our Lockheed Martin Cyber Security Alliance partners revealed that awareness, trust and security were lacking. There’s certainly a very generalized sense that the cloud is important and that it could reduce costs, but there’s not a lot of understanding about the myths associated with cloud computing risks and avoidance risks, upfront costs in moving to the cloud, and so on.

I think at least part of the reason is that there are many different deployment and service models associated with the cloud, and many different combinations. So, it’s very difficult to establish a common baseline within government agencies regarding cloud computing and its deployment.