PSC Applauds Federal Cloud Computing Effort, Recommends Cyber and Procurement Reforms to Accelerate Innovation

Arlington, Va. (Oct. 31, 2018) – The Professional Services Council (PSC) welcomed the release of an updated draft Federal Cloud Computing Strategy (“Cloud Smart”) and submitted recommendations to the White House for bringing more commercial innovation into government. 

“America is the world leader in cloud computing, yet our government lags behind the private sector when it comes to cloud adoption,” wrote PSC executive vice president and counsel Alan Chvotkin in a letter to federal Chief Information Officer (CIO) Suzette Kent. 

PSC’s recommendations for improving the Cloud Smart strategy include cybersecurity and procurement reforms to increase agencies’ access to commercial cloud solutions. PSC supports ongoing efforts to adapt the federal cybersecurity framework from a network boundary or perimeter-based defense, which can hinder cloud-based technologies, to a layered security-based approach protecting data at all levels. PSC also urges revising fiscal law and encouraging greater use of the contracting flexibilities provided in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to help federal agencies derive the full value of “as a service” technologies available in the private sector.

Modern IT architecture such as cloud computing helps organizations take advantage of scalable computing power and leverage their data to deliver services more efficiently. Since 2011, the Federal government has had a strategy encouraging agencies to take advantage of the benefits of cloud computing to increase efficiencies and reduce costs. Yet PSC’s annual Federal CIO Surveys consistently find that few federal IT leaders believe their agencies have made enough progress moving to the cloud. 
PSC’s full comments and recommendations for improving the draft Cloud Smart Strategy are available here.

###
Click here to view the PDF version of this release.

Media Contact: 
Ashlei Stevens
Director, Media Relations
703.875.8974 
stevens@pscouncil.org 

About PSC: PSC is the voice of the government technology and professional services industry. PSC’s nearly 400-member companies represent small, medium and large businesses that provide federal agencies with services of all kinds, including information technology, engineering, logistics, facilities management, operations and maintenance, consulting, international development, scientific, social, environmental services, and more. Together, the trade association’s members employ hundreds     of thousands of Americans in all 50 states. Follow PSC on Twitter @PSCSpeaks. To learn more, visit www.pscouncil.org.