GOVERNMENT
Carnegie Mellon's Gregory Ganger To Testify in Washington About Benefits, Risks of Using Cloud Computing
He Says it Could Improve Federal Information Technology Functions
In testimony to the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization and Procurement, Carnegie Mellon University's Gregory Ganger will discuss the benefits and risks of using cloud computing.
Ganger, head of Carnegie Mellon's Parallel Data Lab and a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, will say that cloud computing has the potential to provide large efficiency improvements for federal information technology (IT) functions. Cloud computing refers to computing that is based on the Internet, which allows computer users to share software, databases and other services that are provided or managed by other parties over the Web. This contrasts with personal computing, where all data storage and processing occurs within the user's computer and uses software loaded onto that computer.
Ganger will recommend to federal officials that the government support both standardization and research/experimentation efforts in the pursuit of cloud computing's potential. He also will note that moving federal IT "to the cloud" will require significant technical and change management training for IT staff and managers as well as explicit information and effort sharing across a broad swath of federal agencies considering the use of cloud computing.
"Cloud computing is an exciting realization of a long-sought concept: computing as a utility. Pursuing judicious use for federal IT functions is important, given the large potential benefits," Ganger said.
Other witnesses invited to testify include: Vivek Kundra, federal chief information officer at the Office of Management and Budget; Casey Coleman, chief information officer at the U.S. General Services Administration; Cita Furlani, director of the Information Technology Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology; Gregory Wilshusen, director of information security issues at the Government Accountability Office; Scott Charney, corporate vice president of trustworthy computing at Microsoft Corporation; Daniel Burton, senior vice president of global public policy at Salesforce.com; and Mike Bradshaw, a director at Google Inc.
The hearing will be webcast on the committee's website: http://www.oversight.house.gov.
When: 10 a.m., Thursday, July 1.
Where: Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2154, Washington, D.C.