The 2009 Cloud Consensus Report

July 28, 2009

Bringing the Cloud Down to Earth

Sponsored by the Merlin Federal Cloud Initiative

22

Introduction

President Barack Obama, Federal CIO Vivek Kundra, and others vocally support a Federal transition to cloud computing. Questions, however, remain – what exactly is cloud computing, and what are the real benefits for Federal agencies?

In June 2009, MeriTalk surveyed 605 Federal and industry IT executives to identify the following: • Snapshots of both government and industry cloud progress• Issues stalling the Federal cloud transition• Recommendations to enable agency cloud readiness

“Is the cloud just the latest hype?” – IT Manager, Department of Defense

There are more than 20 definitions of cloud computing in circulation*

In your own words, how would you define “the cloud?”

“The concept of providing services, infrastructure (network connectivity, database management, etc.), and software applications in a virtual

environment.”

- Deputy CIO/CTO, DoD

3

Cloud Definitions

*CIO, “Early Adaptors Ride Out Cloud Hype,” May 27, 2009

“The architecture supporting services offered.”

- IT Manager, Federal Civilian“Internet client side is not the

cloud, but when Internet traffic is submitted to the client side,

the cloud is present.”

- IT Director, Federal Civilian

“Remote services and infrastructure available over the Internet that

appear as local resources.”

- IT Manager, Federal Civilian

“The domain of Web-based applications.”

- CIO/CTO, Federal Civilian

“A pool of resources (processing and storage) that is sold as a service to various clients so that they do not have to own and

maintain their own data center.”

- IT Director, DoD

“A vaguely defined set of computing resources that can be utilized to complete tasks.”

- IT Manager, DoD

Take Away: Low Visibility

“Just another name for the Internet.”

- IT Manager, DoD

4

Cloud Status

44%

28%

42%

Take Away: Cloud Confusion

however

Report using database cloud applications

Report using document management cloud applications

Report running a virtualized server environment in-house; aka –private clouds

report they are currently using cloud computing

Just 13%

• Federal IT executives report confusion over exactly what is and what is not cloud computing

• While few Federal IT managers say their agencies are using cloud computing, many more report using applications that rely on the cloud

Cloud Impact

Take Away: Staying Power

Federal IT managers are more likely than industry managers to hold this optimistic

outlook – 61% to 51%

Confident Outlook: Aggressive Timeline:

76%

61%

Of Federal IT managers believe the cloud is “here to stay”

Believe that in five years, the majority of large enterprises will rely on cloud computing for core applications

2.6 Average number of years that Federal IT managers believe it will take for their agency to realize the benefits of cloud computing

Despite uncertainty, Federal IT managers see the cloud as more than the latest tech trend

5

Take Away: Opportunity for Federal Leadership

Where Are We Today?

"Everywhere I look, people talk about how the private sector's ahead of the Federal government and that the Federal government can't lead. I reject that idea. The Federal government can lead.“

– Federal CIO Vivek Kundra on the adoption of innovative IT*

*InternetNews.com, “Obama CIO: Government Can Lead in IT,” March 12, 2009

Not discussing the cloud

Implementing a plan

Have cloud applications

in place

UnsureLearning about the

technology

Designing a plan

Where is your organization with cloud computing? Federal government

Industry

On track with industry organizations, most Federal agencies are currently in cloud learning mode

6

7Take Away: Golden Ticket

Cloud Benefits

57% Reduced hardware requirements

45% Reduced costs – pay-as-you go model

35% Reduced staff requirements – allows for focus on more critical tasks

33% Flexibility

24% Potential for group collaboration

22% Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP)

*Federal IT managers asked to select up to three benefits

While Federal and industry IT managers agree on the top three

benefits of cloud computing, Federal managers are twice

as likely to view COOP as a top

benefit – 22% to 11%

With Federal budgets shrinking, the cloud may offer an opportunity to save without sacrifice

What are the most significant benefits of cloud computing for your agency?*

8Take Away: Cash In

Cloud Success

90%of agencies and organizations

that have implemented cloud computing say their implementation

has been successful

63%of Federal agencies and

industry organizations believe cloud computing is the key to

reducing their IT expenses

and

“We have recently benchmarked our cloud implementation and have had high service levels with very low costs.” – IT Manager, Federal Civilian

Across Federal agencies and industry organizations, IT departments are anticipating and achieving a high rate of cloud computing success

9

Cloud Barriers

Take Away: Storm Clouds

Security

Privacy

Bandwidth

Costs

Performance

78%

Though Federal and industry IT managers both see it as the top

barrier, Federal agencies are more likely than industry organizations to

experience implementation challenges with security –

73% to 48%

*Federal IT managers asked to select up to three barriers

However, Federal IT managers see security concerns as a major hurdle to cloud advancement

What are the biggest barriers to cloud computing within your agency?*

10Take Away: Feds Value Privacy

Cloud Outlook

Government agencies are less

likely to be open to the use of public

clouds than industry

organizations – 27% to 41%

• Both government and industry are optimistic about their future cloud use

• When it comes to architecture, Federal agencies are more likely to select private clouds over public clouds; may see as a way to address security and privacy concerns

My organization is open to using:

Clouds Today Clouds TomorrowMy organization is currently using:

28% 26%

8%11%

0%

25%

50%

Private Cloud Public Cloud

Federal government

Industry

41%46%

27%

41%

0%

25%

50%

Private Cloud Public Cloud

11Take Away: Clouds in the Distance

Five-Year Forecast

• Looking ahead, Federal IT managers believe e-mail is the most likely cloud candidate

• However, close to half also anticipate moving procurement, enterprise resource planning (ERP), and customer relationship management (CRM) applications to a cloud model within the next five years

Five years from now, how do you believe your agency will host the following applications?* 

*Federal IT managers asked to select one hosting method for each application

Download the Cloud Consensus Report Today at Meritalk.com:

http://www.meritalk.com/2009-cloud-consensus-registration.php

Steve O’Keeffe – MeriTalk

sokeeffe@meritalk.com

(703) 883-9000 ext. 111