Pentagon to Store Data in Cloud to Lower Costs, Improve Security

 

WASHINGTON, January 31 (Sputnik) — US Department of Defense will move its data to the cloud storage system in order to cut costs and improve security, Pentagon press release said.

“The Defense Department is moving its data to the cloud, driven by cost reductions, technical efficiencies and security considerations,” the release issued Friday read.

The idea is to move “as much nonsensitive data as possible” to the commercial cloud because costs there are lower, according to release.

“We are such a big market that they [commercial companies] will be willing to adapt their security to meet us. I'm hoping this comes out to be 25 percent or 30 percent more efficient when we are done,” US Acting Chief Information Officer (CIO) Terry Halvorsen was quoted as saying in the press release.

Halvorsen is currently holding a series of Cloud Industry Days, meetings intended “to promote a continuous, open dialogue with industry that will shape DOD’s approach to the business of information technology and cyber,” DOD said.

In the near future, the CIO envisions situations in which a defense contractor might put data inside a data center located on federal property, the release said.

Cloud computing, which enables on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources, is part of a government-wide effort of the Unite States to modernize and streamline government IT.