NIST Moves Forward on Cloud Computing

Last week the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) held their second Cloud Computing Forum and Workshop. Skillfully shepherded by Ms. Dawn Leaf, the agency’s senior executive of cloud computing, the event reinforced the US Federeal government's move towards the cloud. Of particular note to me was the cloud computing simulation model project, known as Koala, that focuses on the behavior of infrastructure-as-a-service cloud systems. Other highlights included:

• A cloud computing standards panel moderated by Mike Hogan and Teresa Schwarzhoff
• Ms Cita M. Furlani, Director NIST Information Technology Laboratory, view of the cloud
• Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Khawaja S. Shams description of a cloud oriented architecture
• Dawn Leaf's overview of the NIST Cloud Computing Program
• Danielle Kriz of the Information Technology Industry Council presentation on global cloud computing security; and
• Jean-Francois Junger of the European Commision talk on Europe's digital agenda.

NIST also highlighted their work on cloud computing use cases. This set of twenty five use cases is being used to address portability, interoperability and security concerns within the cloud computing community.

I applaud NIST and the Federal CIO Council for their leadership in this area.

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Robert Duffner Interviews Chris Kemp, NASA, and Kevin Jackson, NJVC, on GovCloud

Recently, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Mr. Robert Duffner, director of Product Management for Windows Azure, as part of his "Thought Leaders in the Cloud" series. In this interview, we discussed:

• Actual government IT successes, especially using cloud computing
• Deconstructing the hype around cloud computing and talking about its real characteristics and value
• How clouds need a critical mass to function and provide elasticity, and how the size of the US places it in a strong position to develop these kinds of clouds
• Industry transition from system integration to service integration
• Use of clouds among defense departments and other organizations with other high security requirements
• Synergy between cloud computing and geospatial data

I was honored to follow Mr. Chris Kemp, NASA CTO, in this series.  During his interview with Robert, they discussed:

• Mandate to consider cloud computing for every major government IT project
• "Be a Martian" - NASA using Windows Azure to let students classify craters
• Opportunity for government to use more open source rather than write as much in-house
• Security concerns around government data
• Inter-country collaboration on cloud computing initiatives
• Gartner blog post titled, "Do Government Clouds Make Any Sense?"
• Collaboration with Microsoft Research on public/private cloud hybrid
• NASA is leading the charge towards cloud computing and modern IT for government

I urge you to take the time to read both of these thoughtful interviews.

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NJVC, Invertix Announce Cloud Computing Demonstration at GEOINT 2010

VIENNA, Va. -- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- NJVC®, one of the largest providers of information technology (IT) solutions to the U.S. Department of Defense, and Invertix Corporation, a proven technology company supporting the United States Intelligence Community, will offer a joint cloud computing platform demonstration at the NJVC booth (#375) at the GEOINT 2010 Symposium, Nov. 1 – 4, in New Orleans. The portable cloud platform is also installed at NJVC Center for Technology Integration – West in O’Fallon, Ill., and an Invertix office in Northern Virginia.

The NJVC and Invertix team will demonstrate both administrative and mission-oriented capabilities enhanced by the power of cloud computing. The effort includes the configuration of an open source software-based distributed cloud platform on innovative green commodity hardware that improves enterprise capabilities while reducing cost. The demonstration will also highlight widget and mashup technologies configured for web-based enterprise search and GEOINT analysis by system end-users on a local cloud platform as well interacting with remote clouds including an NJVC cloud in O’Fallon, the DIA developed Intelligence Community Data Layer and an Invertix cloud in Northern Virginia. “At GEOINT 2010, the on-site cloud platform, dashboard and widgets validate utility cloud platform capabilities in a compelling and tangible manner,” said Dr. Dan Law, Invertix chief scientist.

“NJVC is thrilled to embark on this new relationship with Invertix to leverage the cloud computing expertise and successes of both companies to clients—current and future,” said Jill Bruning, NJVC chief operating officer. “This is the first of many future joint initiatives targeted at growing both companies’ cloud computing practices.”

“We are happy to engage with NJVC in exploring innovative ways to advance client missions by leveraging the power of emerging cloud technologies,” said Craig Parisot, Invertix chief operating officer. “Our delivery approach effectively leverages the strengths of both organizations for the benefit of the GEOINT domain mission.”

Visit the NJVC booth (#375) on the tradeshow floor to experience this cloud computing partnership in action.

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About NJVC
 
NJVC is one of the largest information technology solutions providers supporting the U.S. Department of Defense. The company provides quality IT solutions to the federal government and specializes in supporting intelligence, defense and geospatial organizations. NJVC has more than 1,300 employees and operates in offices in Vienna, Va.; Arnold, Mo.; and O’Fallon, Ill. NJVC also provides distributed technical services to the DoD and the U.S. Intelligence Community around the globe. For more information, visit http://njvc.com/cloud-computing.

About Invertix Corporation
 
Founded in 1999, Invertix Corporation is a proven technology company and an experienced government prime contractor providing technologies and services to the U.S. Intelligence Community. The company maintains major operating locations in McLean, Va.; Las Cruces, N.M.; and Alexandria, Va. Invertix is driven by national priorities with a primary focus in the mission areas of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, enterprise information technology and communications mission systems. Invertix was named to the 2010 Inc. 500, ranked number four on the list of 50 fastest growing companies in the D.C. region and winner of the ACG emerging company of 2010. For more information, visit http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.invertix.com&esheet=6491825&lan=en-US&anchor=www.invertix.com&index=10&md5=9100903af0280927f702b73083d1e941.

Copyright © Business Wire 2010

Contact:

NJVC
Michelle Snyder, 703-893-7609
michelle.snyder@njvc.com
or
Invertix Corporation
Dr. Dan Law, CTO, 703-813-2100
dlaw@invertix.com

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