GSA to Present on Cloud Initiative at NCOIC Plenary

The GSA has positioned itself as a significant participant in the government's move toward the use of cloud computing

Aug. 13, 2009 03:00 PM

A General Services Administration (GSA) representative is now scheduled to provide a briefing on the agency's cloud computing initiative during a "Best Practices for Cloud Initiatives using Storefronts" session on September 21, 2009 in Fairfax, VA. The session, part of the Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium (NCOIC) Plenary, is expected to foster an interactive dialog on interoperability and portability standards for Federal cloud computing deployments.

Through the recent release of a Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) Request for Quote (RFQ), the GSA has positioned itself as a significant participant in the federal government's move toward the use of cloud computing technologies. Casey Coleman, GSA CIO, has previously stated that cloud computing is the best way for government technology to move forward. To support this effort, the agency is encouraging an active dialog with industry on possible future standardization issues such as:

Interfaces to Cloud Resources supporting portability of PaaS tools and SaaS applications;
Interfaces to Cloud Resources supporting interoperability across Clouds;
Sharing and/or movement of virtual computational resources across Clouds;
Data sharing and movement across Clouds;
Authentication and authorization across Clouds;
Messaging to and from Clouds; and
Metering, monitoring and management across Clouds.

Although responses to the current RFQ are expected to have been submitted by the plenary session date, changes in the GSA IaaS procurement schedule could result in the postponement of the GSA briefing.

The NCOIC is a unique collaboration of premier leaders in the aerospace, defense, information technology, large-scale integrator and services industries. The Consortium works in tandem with customers from around the world, each with a specific mission, to provide a set of tools that enable the development of network centric capabilities and products. An example of the consortium's unique capabilities the recent agreement between NCOIC and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to advance the Enterprise Architecture of NextGen, FAA’s national airspace (NAS) transformation program. The NCOIC will analyze and evaluate NextGen’s enterprise architecture views, products, plans, net-centric patterns and operational concepts. Working collaboratively, its members will develop “voice of industry” recommendations about applying net-centric standards to the NextGen procurement, as a way to achieve interoperability in the NAS and, potentially, the skies beyond U.S. borders.

Registration for the plenary is now available at https://www.ncoic.org/events/plenaries_council/ .

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About Kevin Jackson
Kevin Jackson is currently an Engineering Fellow with NJVC, one of the largest information technology solutions providers supporting the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). Prior to this position, he served in various senior management positions including VP, Dataline LLC, Director Federal for Sirius Computer Solutions and Worldwide Sales Executive for IBM. His formal education includes MSEE (Computer Engineering), MA National Security & Strategic Studies and a BS Aerospace Engineering. Jackson graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1979 and retired from the US Navy earning specialties in Space Systems Engineering, Airborne Logistics and Airborne Command and Control. He also served with the National Reconnaissance Office, Operational Support Office, providing tactical support to Navy and Marine Corps forces worldwide. Kevin is the founder and author of “Cloud Musings”, a widely followed blog that focuses on the use of cloud computing by the Federal government. He is also the editor and founder of “Government Cloud Computing” electronic magazine, published at Ulitzer.com. google-site-verification: google25c59f8091bf6ea5.html

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