Contributed by Michael Ray, Solutions Architect at VAZATA.
Federal Government Cloud Computing Initiative
The U. S. government’s “Cloud First” policy has been operational for about a year and a new “Future First’ policy has been initiated to build on lessons learned and evolving technologies. The government is looking at a range of cloud options, with the primary focus being to cut costs, engage consumers, improve overall operations and provide transparency.
With security and privacy at the center of concerns, the public sector continues to be a focal point of selecting the right Cloud strategies. Governments appear to feel compelled to go forward with a range of cloud initiatives, largely due to tight budgets.
VAZATA continues to have success working with government agencies to deliver cloud services and products while providing Federally Compliant Solutions. As a certified and accredited solution provider under FISMA’s recommended security controls for federal information systems, VAZATA is able to quickly deploy solutions without imposing an otherwise time consuming procurement process.
When Cloud Security and Compliance are Critical
VAZATA stands firmly behind the security of its vStructure™ with a track record to back it up. The company has achieved SSAE 16 Type II (formerly SAS 70 Type II) for all three of its data centers, and the process of securing an ATO from the government entailed the assessment and accreditation of over 750 control points across three “lots:”
- Cloud Storage
- Virtual Machines
- Cloud Web Hosting
By providing the backbone and enterprise-level tools for robust cloud infrastructure solutions, VAZATA continues to give government agencies the ability to fulfill their mission to access the best in virtualized hosting, flexible storage solutions and mission critical disaster recovery.