Looking into getting hosting cheap? It's probably a safe bet you've explored the cloud hosting option. Cloud hosting is a great way to start your small business' website for a small financial commitment as you aren't required to invest heavily in equipment.
And hey, what's good for your small business is also good for the US Department of Defense. That's right, the US Navy released a memo recently as reported by Forbes, laying out the reasons they believe cloud computing solutions will aid them in becoming more efficient while saving money at the same time.
Public vs. Private
Getting their hosting cheap is obviously a priority, but how does the US Navy decide between public or private cloud solutions? The memo, entitled “Department of the Navy Approach to Cloud Computing,” states that after much debate over the type of data that would be stored in the cloud and a cost comparison of different cloud servers and related security needs, they made a decision to sign on with a commercial cloud hosting provider.
Of course, with information being stored in the cloud, the department will begin by transferring systems that host only the information that is able to be released to the public. In the future, all systems will move to the cloud.
Security Is Key
The memo was released April 1 to service organizations by the Navy CIO, and asks program managers and systems and application owners who service their systems to look closely into different ways to host Navy data and systems, including cloud service providers.
The Navy will be going over cloud service providers with a fine-tooth comb, looking for not only the best hosting cheap, but the best in cloud technology that offer the proper security requirements.
AWS
A recent pilot project has led to this great idea, where the Navy CIO relied on Amazon Web Services to host their public data.
“The experience the [Navy Department] gains through initial application of cloud computing, in conjunction with security requirements, will inform future decisions on how to best apply this technology,” said a Navy cloud computing fact sheet.
A Change
Originally, the DoD had issued two memos in 2012 stating that the Defense Information Systems Agency would serve as Enterprise Cloud Service Broker for the department. But since that idea is still in the development stages, they decided to start transferring systems to the commercial cloud service provider.
“The decision to host the data in a commercial cloud environment resulted from an analysis of several factors, the most important being the type of data stored in the portal, hosting costs, and security requirements,” the memo said.
The department will be closely watching this initial experience with a cloud hosting environment as a sort of test dummy, figuring out security requirements, processes, and certification standards unique to the cloud.
It's All About The Money
The Navy CIO Terry Halvorsen, and Deputy CIO, Janice Haith, said that this all came about as an answer to a $2 billion budget cut over the next five years. Said Halvorsen, “The money has been removed…We need to specifically look at IT as an enabler and also look at the business processes that, in combination, will lead to cost savings.”
Of course, there are more cuts occurring besides the IT portion of the budget. Carrier air wing two (CVW-2) was shut down in April, six ships scheduled for deployment were cancelled, and four scheduled appearances by the Blue Angels are also cancelled, among other things.
Do you think moving the Navy's sensitive data to the cloud in order to get hosting cheap is a good idea? Is this an area the DoD should even be considering, or should they looking into cuts elsewhere?
