We have seen revolutionary computing technologies come about roughly once each decade in the “modern era” of computing since around 1945, when computing came to mean computations performed by a machine, not by man. From the mainframe era of the 1960s to the advent of minicomputers in the 1970s, the personal computer in the 1980s, the growth of the Internet and the Web in the 1990s, and the explosion of cell phones and other smart, Web-connected devices in the past 10 years, computing has been reinvented in many ways over time.

            Cloud computing certainly seems to be the “phrase of the day” in much of the computing world today, and many experts now think that cloud computing will be “the next big thing.” Indeed, Gartner believes that in the end, the impact of the cloud model will be “no less influential than e-business.” Thus, it should not be surprising that in an October 2009 survey of IT executives, conducted by CIO Research, cloud computing was the number one subject of interest amongst an international panel of information technology decision-makers.

What is cloud computing? Cloud computing encompasses a whole range of services (as shown in Table 1) and can be hosted in a variety of manners (as shown in Table 2), depending on the nature of the service involved and the data/security needs of the contracting organization. However, the basic idea behind the cloud model is that anything that could be done in computing — whether on an individual PC or in a corporate data center — from storing data to collaborating on documents or crunching numbers on large data sets can be shifted to the cloud. Certainly, cloud computing enables a new platform and location-independent perspective on how we communicate, collaborate and work. So long as you can access the Web, you are able to work when and where you wish. With fast, reliable Internet connectivity and computer power, it does not matter where the document, the e-mail or the data the user sees on the screen comes from. Cloud computing enables providers to use distant data centers for cloud computing. Still, while some have predicted the end of the PC era with the rise of the cloud computing model, many believe that most organizations and even individuals will continue to make use of traditional PCs and laptops, even if more and more of their use will be to access the cloud.  

Table 1 – Categories of Cloud Services

For individuals, cloud computing means accessing web-based email, photo sharing and productivity software, much of it for free. And for organizations, shifting to the cloud means having the ability to contract for computing services on-demand, rather than having to invest to host all the necessary hardware, software and support personnel necessary to provide a given level of services. And for governments, the value proposition of the cloud is especially appealing, given both changing demands for IT and challenging economic conditions.

Table 2 – Types of Clouds

            Today, we are seeing implementations of cloud computing across the public sector all around the world.

Cloud Computing in the U.S. Federal Government

            In the Unites States, there have been early efforts at shifting IT to the cloud across the U.S. federal government, led by the country’s first CIO, Vivek Kundra. The CIO is attempting to institute massive strategic changes, both in mindsets and operations, in the federal information technology area. Indeed, Kundra believes that cloud computing represents a “tectonic shift” in computing technology (quoted in Campbell, 2009, n.p.), and he has predicted that ultimately, “the cloud will do for government what the Internet did in the ’90s.” In mid-September, Kundra announced the opening of the Apps.gov storefront (viewable at http://www.apps.gov), operated by the General Services Administration (GSA). Through Apps.gov, Kundra hopes to make it as easy for federal agencies to provision cloud services ranging from hundreds to millions of dollars in cost as easy as commercial buyers using cloud services from major cloud providers such as Amazon and Google, who may eventually become providers to the US government. We will also likely see more vendors create government-specific cloud computing products for equipping public sector computers with much of the functionality which today resides on individual machines and agency servers, following the lead of Google, which in September 2009 announced a version of Google Apps that will be specifically geared for U.S. federal agencies.

Cloud Computing in European Government

The UK government has made the creation of the “G-cloud,” which is to be a government-wide cloud computing network, a strategic priority. The Digital Britain Report, issued jointly in June 2009 by the Department for Business Innovation & Skills and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, calls for the UK government to take the lead in a wide-ranging digital strategy for the country. As Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced the issuance of the report: “Digital Britain is about giving the country the tools to succeed and lead the way in the economy of the future.” An important aspect of the Digital Britain strategy is to improve governmental IT and allow for more services to migrate online. To support this action, the UK’s IT procurement efforts will be focused on enabling the government to become a leading force in the use of cloud computing. The report states that: “The Government’s impact on the digital economy goes way beyond its role as policy maker. In delivering public services, as a large customer of ICT products and services and as the owner of data systems, the public sector has enormous influence on the market. In many areas, such as education, health and defence, Government can use its position as the leading procurer of services, to drive up standards – in some cases to set standards – and to provide an investment framework for research and development.” The Digital Britain team from both cabinet offices has an official forum, where interested parties can learn more about the plan and comment on it, located at http://digitalbritainforum.org.uk/.

            There have been other cloud computing efforts initiated in Europe as well, though none approaching the ambitious scale of the Digital Britain project. Oleg Petrov of the World Bank’s Government Transformation Initiative recently completed a project cataloging active cloud computing initiatives in countries around the world, and in Europe, he identified cloud efforts underway specifically in Sweden, France, and Spain. He found that in addition to setting-up internal, private cloud environments (as Spain is presently working on), European nations were beginning to explore the use of cloud-based computing in the following areas:

·      management of public sector housing

·      transportation service networks

·      economic development

·      census

·      health services

·      contracting and

·      education services.

Likewise, in Denmark, the National IT and Telecom Agency has recently released the results of a pilot effort in which two of its systems, Digitalisér.dk and NemHandel, were shifted from a traditional in-house environment to cloud hosting. The agency reported both significant cost and energy savings through the effort (Government of Denmark, Launching a dialogue on cloud computing in government. Presently, the National IT and Telecom Agency is working with Local Government Denmark (LGDK), a voluntary association consisting of all 98 Danish municipalities, to explore using cloud computing as part of their national and local IT strategies.

            On the European Union (EU)-wide level, we will likely see emerging cooperation of member states on an EU-wide cloud computing effort, which analysts say could well lead towards the creation of a cloud-based, common infrastructure for IT in member states. With many of the same pressures and forces operating on EU governments as in the United States, we will likely see just as many — if not more — coopera­tive efforts and innovative experiments in cloud computing on the national and even transnational level in Europe.  

Managing Government IT in the Clouds

Today, in late 2009, we are in a transitional stage in the history of computing. Cloud computing does appear to be poised for rapid growth in the personal, corporate and governmental realms. Indeed, developments and expectations in the consumer realm are becoming drivers of what can and what is expected to be done in both public and private sector organizations. U.S. federal CIO Kundra, discussing his decision to emphasize greater use of cloud technologies, recently stated: “When employees go home, they have access to more technology at home than they do at work. I said ‘wait a minute, people have this access at home, how can I bring it to the government?’ It made a compelling reason for us to move that direction.”

IT leaders should recognize that there are eight fundamental elements that are vital in enabling the cloud computing concept. For the cloud model to work in the public or private sector, it is essential that there be:

1.     Universal Connectivity — users must have near-ubiquitous access to the Internet

2.     Open Access — users must have fair, non-discriminatory access to the Internet

3.     Reliability — the cloud must function at levels equal to or better than current stand-alone systems

4.     Interoperability and User Choice — users must be able to move among cloud platforms

5.     Security — user’s data must be safe

6.     Privacy — user’s rights to their data must be clearly defined and protected

7.     Economic value — the cloud must deliver tangible savings and benefits

8.     Sustainability — the cloud must raise energy efficiency and reduce ecological impact.  

There are many issues that remain to be worked out from a technology standpoint. Yet it is highly likely that as with other major tech­nological changes, the most important issues to be resolved will be people-based, not tech-based. Resistance to cloud computing from end-users is likely to be limited, so long as they can count on the same type of IT resources as they have had in the past. As one commentator put it, the key metric for them will be: “When I sit down at that computer, do I see the functionality I need?” (n.p.). There will undoubtedly however be some resistance among the IT workforce to the advent of cloud computing. Traditional IT staffers are likely to be the most resistant, while those with experience with web development are likely to be supportive of cloud efforts. However, the rising generation in the IT workforce — comfortable in their use of and reliance upon a whole host of web-based tools and services — will be more willing to shift operations and data to the cloud than will be the current generation of IT decision makers. They will likely see their older colleagues’ concerns about reliability and security issues regarding the use of cloud computing as “exaggerated and quaint.”

Many in IT may also perceive the shift as not just changing what they do in their jobs, but as a threat to their very jobs. Martha Dorris, Deputy Associate Administrator for the GSA’s Office of Citizen Services in the US federal government, commented that the biggest issue in her agency’s changeover to a cloud-based platform was that: “Our technology team did not want to give up the servers.” She observed that in the end: “This isn’t a story about technology. It’s a story of culture.”   As we have seen with so many technological shifts that have previously occurred, it is essential to gain cultural buy-in from employees to get them to do something differently, as it absolutely essential for cultural change to accompany the technology shift. Indeed, many in IT will have to overcome their fear of data and applications not residing within their realm of control within their own four walls.

Many IT professionals are growing more receptive to the concept overall, as these cloud computing tools may in fact make their jobs better by freeing them from the “day-to-day hassles” of maintaining software. Certainly, the nature of IT jobs and the skills required to perform them will change markedly over the next decade. There will be less manual work needed internally, both in data centers (“racking and stacking”) and in the field (doing installations and upgrades). At the same time, there will be a greater emphasis on the negotiation, conceptual and people skills needed to manage contracted cloud services. Indeed, in the near future, there will be a great need for developing expertise in specifying, negotiating, and managing service-level and organizational agreements. On the executive level, the shift to greater use of cloud computing will enable IT managers to be able to focus on how to best deliver services, rather than where they are hosted or how they are implemented. This will, of necessity, lead to changes in how IT and IT managers are evaluated for their performance.

How will this impact IT employment overall? Cloud computing will undoubtedly create jobs in the near-term. Yet over the next decade, there will be both new companies and new jobs emerging in the area of cloud services, countered by a significant displacement of many of the “nuts and bolts” technology jobs in IT — doing “hands-on” work in maintenance, upgrades and the like internally for organizations. Overall, the technical skills needed for IT jobs will likely decrease, as many jobs in the field become more administrative in nature, such as overseeing contracts and handling cus­tomer inquiries. Some have referred to this as a shift away from “blue-collar” IT jobs and careers towards a more white-collar IT workforce.

While IT has certainly seen platform transitions before, from mainframe to Windows to the Web, the fact is that “human capital is the most difficult kind to upgrade.” Thus, at a time when cloud computing is emerging so quickly, it will be difficult to train IT professionals on cloud technologies and then to retain them. This will require retraining of many present IT workers, and those jobs that are found with cloud providers will indeed be away from “traditional” tech centers and major cities and more located in the rural, power-friendly areas where major cloud data centers will tend to be more commonly located. Indeed, some European governments and companies have expressed concern about working with U.S. based cloud computing providers out of concern that their data—housed at least partially on American soil—could be subject to U.S. governmental review due to the provisions of the Patriot Act. And, in order to encourage economic develop­ment, national and regional governments may require cloud providers to either manage operations in govern­ment data centers or to even locate data centers within their jurisdictions—so that the money and jobs stay in their own local area! Thus, cloud computing may indeed be a way to promote growth in areas that have a properly trained IT workforce, cheap electrical power and reliable connectivity. This will occur in developed nations for now, but eventually, as we have seen in other aspects of technology, such operations and their jobs will likely migrate from the first to the third world over time – so long as the Internet and security concerns are addressed.

            As government executives consider the move to cloud environments, they must weigh the potential savings, increased collaborative capabilities and operational advantages with the security, reliability, and privacy concerns that “cloud” the overall outlook for cloud computing. Still, cloud computing represents a revolutionary change in the way computing power will be used and procured, and as such, it will have significant impact both in the developed world and in developing nations.

David C. Wyld (dwyld@selu.edu) is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management, Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. His most recent work is “Moving to the Cloud: An Introduction to Cloud Computing in Government,” by David C. Wyld. It is a research monograph published by The IBM Center for the Business of Government, Washington, DC in November 2009. The complete report is available for free on the web in PDF format at: http://www.businessofgovernment.org/pdfs/WyldCloudReport.pdf.