Knowledge Sharing on Cloud Computing Between Government and Public Sectors

Knowledge Sharing on Cloud Computing Between Government and Public Sectors

History is witness to the fact that technologies develop best when both the public and private sectors are involved. While sometimes this involvement involves competition, often its cooperation between the two that drives emerging technologies to maturity. Cloud computing can be one such technology.

While there have been several reports about the immense market for cloud computing in the near future, globally (See: Cloud Computing Market Will Top $241 Billion in 2020 ), domestically (See: Where Is Cloud Computing Going? Up, Up And Away!) and even in terms of early-mover Amazon’s predicted revenues (See:  How BIG Is the Cloud Computing Market?), there hasn’t been much written about the US government’s role.

Considering that the US government spends $80 billion annually on technology, there’s a huge market here. Factor in other periodic investments like defense, health, education and infrastructure, and the total market over several years may well cross a trillion dollars. All of this makes the government’s role very important in the development and spread of cloud computing.

Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO) Vivek Kundra, the first in US history to occupy that position, is leading the government move in cloud computing (See: The Architect of the Official Cloud Computing Revolution – CIO Vivek Kundra).

Now, he has announced his initiative by bringing the private and public sectors together by confirming his attendance as the keynote speaker at the 2011 Government IT Leadership Forum, an event that will “bring together chief information officers, chief technology officers and other technology decision makers in federal, state and local government.”

This event, to be held on May 5th at the Newseum in Washington, DC, will “engage CIOs from the private sector in a far-ranging discussion of best and next practices in driving innovation, efficiency, and performance in their organizations”, attended by the likes of Rob Carter, CIO of FedEx, Dave Bent, CIO of United Stationers and Peter Whatnell, CIO of Sunoco.  The panel discussion between Kundra and corporate America is considered the first of its kind.

While the event is primarily a government event where senior IT officials from different parts of officialdom will come together “to discuss how they’re using technology to drive change within their agencies”, the presence of corporate leaders represent a unique meeting ground for the public and private sectors of society as regards cloud computing and other related matters. Events such as these can definitely drive innovation in the industry, build relationships and open up new markets.

By Sourya Biswas

Tagged as: Chief Information Officer (CIO), Cloud Computing, cloud computing market, cloud computing revolution, CloudTweaks, Education, hat technologies, Technology, technology decision makers