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Despite what the headline may imply, the federal government isn’t going to require that everyone have a Gmail account or Facebook page (the free market is doing that pretty much all on its own).
No, instead, the Office of Management and Budget is basically mandating that every federal agency adopt cloud computing as a backbone technology. While federal agencies aren’t required to adopt cloud tech, they have to explain why cloud computing isn’t a core part of their IT plan if they don’t jump on board. Basically, cloud computing is assumed to be appropriate for every corner of government IT, and if you as an agency disagree, you have to prove why you’re too special for cloud computing before the OMB will let you off the hook.
Now, as a company that is aimed squarely at helping out individuals and businesses that adopt cloud-based systems, this pronouncement is of a bit of interest to Backupify. Frankly, we see cloud computing as a growing industry regardless of whether the feds dive in. And, despite cynical blog posts to the contrary, that’s largely a good thing. That said — why the sudden rush to a federal cloud?
I mean, yes, freeing up federal IT dollars by removing server maintenance from the budget is a viable cost-saving measure, just like it is in private industry. Moreover, if this mandating of cloud-based adoption is followed up with mandated federal API rollouts — so all that lovely federal research data can be liberated for use by the private citizens that have paid to create it — then this could turn out to be a net gain.
But I hope this federal cloud requirement isn’t being sold as some kind of security panacea. Yes, seven of the 15 most egregious data losses in history were suffered by government agencies, but the remaining eight were all private company blunders. Taking public data and entrusting it to private cloud providers doesn’t make it inherently more secure — private firms are just as data-insecure as the feds.
If Vivek Kundra calls tomorrow we’ll be glad to make Backupify the official backup service provider for the US government. (We’re not stupid.) But if the feds don’t call us, I certainly hope they call somebody. The cloud has many great benefits, but guaranteed data immortality isn’t one of them.
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