Tag Archives: government cloud

One Cloud Vertical: The Federal Cloud Computing Strategy

  By VAZATA Admin | May 21, 2012 - 10:03 pm |
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Contributed by Michael Ray, Solutions Architect at VAZATA.

IT services for government

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.

Federal Government and Benefits of the Cloud

  By VAZATA Admin | March 12, 2012 - 7:30 am | ,
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Federal Infrastructure As a Service Solutions

Contributed by Michael Ray, solutions architect for VAZATA. 

Federal Infrastructure As a Service Solutions

Federal Government Moving to the Cloud

With the widespread move by governments to implement cloud solutions, it begs the question of what the key motivator is for such unprecedented interest in a new technology. Studies report that 70 percent of government entities have either already implemented a cloud solution or are working on a strategy to do so.

The most obvious reason is a relative no-brainer – cost savings in a big way. Much lower capital investments are involved with cloud computing, so cloud solutions are extremely attractive in light of current economic conditions and the need to cut costs so drastically.

VAZATA’s vStructure™ infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) platform continues to help federal agencies fulfill their mission to migrate to an efficient and economical government cloud security platform. Our expertise in providing the backbone and enterprise-level tools for robust cloud infrastructure solutions gives government agencies the ability to fulfill their mission to access the best in managed hosting, flexible storage solutions and mission critical disaster recovery.

Cloud computing and cloud managed hosting is also responsible for another important economical aspect – new job creation. In a recent study performed by IDC, it’s predicted that cloud computing will generate nearly 14 million jobs globally by 2015. In addition, IT innovation empowered by the cloud could help drive business revenue by $1.1 trillion by the same year. This would inevitably lead to a rise in jobs across multiple fields.*

The bottom line is this: the cloud is here to stay, so it’s simply a matter of determining which components are best suited for your organization’s needs. The migration path from a traditional colocation model to a sophisticated, secure and scalable cloud solution is easier than you might think.

Cloudy Definitions: Private, Public and Hybrid Cloud Solutions

  By vazata | January 24, 2012 - 12:06 pm | , , , , , ,
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By: Pete Benoit, VP of Technical Solutions, VAZATA

Cloud 101

Because the Cloud concept is relatively new, it seems timely to touch on the high points of what it’s all about. To many of you, the general concept is clear, but for those not so far along on the learning curve, this might be helpful.

Cloud computing encompasses the broader concept of infrastructure convergence and shared services. This type of data environment makes it possible for businesses to get their applications up and running faster, with easier manageability and less maintenance. Cloud computing provides computation, software, data access, and storage services that don’t require end-user knowledge of the physical location and configuration of the system that delivers the services. Think of it like the electricity grid. We all use power without the need to understand all of the details of infrastructure used to provide the service.

The positive impact of cloud computing on business has prompted the federal US government to look to the cloud as a means of reorganizing their IT infrastructure and decrease spending budgets.

  • But isn’t the US government sensitive to compliance and security requirements?
  •  Is the cloud safe?
  • What’s the difference between a private cloud, a public cloud and a hybrid cloud solution?

Back to the Basics: Managed Hosting v/s Cloud

Managed Hosting has been around a while and is a hosting option for small businesses who want the features of a large IT department without the costs. It allows you to place your physical servers in someone else’s facility and share their bandwidth as your own. It generally costs more than standard Web hosting, but less than what you would pay for the same operation in-house.

Many of our customers come from traditional colocation or managed hosting models but have a growing interest in leveraging the benefits of virtualization.  Inevitable business requirements like disaster recovery planning, hardware refresh investments, data security assurances and the need to scale IT operations in order to keep pace with business growth lead organizations down the path of evaluating in-house solutions versus outsourced solutions.  With virtualization – or migration to a cloud solution – you can quickly access enterprise-class infrastructure with built-in security, stability and scalability under an entirely different cost model than if you were to acquire and build everything in-house.

So What’s the Difference Between a Public Cloud and a Private Cloud?

Many cloud vendors provide public cloud solutions where you share resources  - such as applications and storage – with the rest of their customer base over the internet.  They present cost savings and easy access, but if you’re interested in securing a mission critical application, then a public cloud solution poses risk.  Like the banking system, if every customer were to make a withdrawl at the same time, funds may be limited.  Capacity shortages and outages are unfortunate drawbacks to public cloud solutions and if you have security or compliance requirements, this is often not an option for you.  On the other hand, a private could is defined at the other end of the spectrum.  A private cloud is a proprietary platform that utilizes virtualization capability.  It’s often owned and supported by the organization it serves and it is not shared across entities.

At VAZATA, we often speak to hybrid cloud solutions that utilize a combination of multi-tenant cloud solutions through our vStructure™ (infrastructure-as-a-Service) IaaS platform with private cloud applications.

What Counts Most:  Scalability, Stability, and Security

VAZATA has the capability of doing a split or hybrid solution using Colo, Managed Hosting and Cloud. This approach alleviates any concerns a customer may have, and provides a hands-on understanding of how Cloud works and assurance of easy access and control.

VAZATA helps customers through an educational buying cycle so they are not just selecting vendors, but fundamental IT operations models: insource versus outsource; physical Colo with complete control versus virtualization where operations and mission critical apps are handed off to a vendor. VAZATA has achieved federal compliance (FISMA and NIST 800) offering maximum credibility and security.

VAZATA offers the unique option of short term engagements or pilots that give customers maximum flexibility as they determine the appropriate deployment model for their immediate and future needs. The pilot option positions VAZATA as a true partner rather than just a vendor.

Scenario:

The ABC Company has internal hosting solutions with lots of equipment. They are going to update out of necessity, but to do so the equipment cost may exceed $100,000. By moving to the Cloud, they could easily save money with potential lower costs and have a solution that’s scalable to fit their growth needs.

The Cloud is an ideal solution for clients who build infrastructures for customers and often need solutions that grow quickly with the business. They don’t pay for resources until they need them.

From traditional Colo deployment to moving Colo infrastructure to Cloud deployment, VAZATA offers a migration path and a transition plan for customers to ensure a comfort level of sound operations. VAZATA is positioned to help businesses grow at a pace that’s in line with their infrastructure needs and budgetary constraints.