Apps.gov - 10 Hot Sites for Government Transparency

The federal government is not just flirting with cloud computing, it is moving directly into the cloud. A new site called Apps.gov makes it easier for federal agencies to get the cloud services they need, saving money and bringing more efficiencies to their sites.

"You've got services, storage, development, testing, and production teams--and on it goes. Need a better solution to reduce cost and implement projects faster? Try GSA's Cloud IT services where you get storage, webhosting and virtual machines--all hosted in the cloud," the site boasts.

This site, a General Services Administration portal, is a facilitator of open government. It's a place where government employees and contractors can go to buy cloud-based solutions. While it does not offer transparency per se, it enables government agencies to get where they are going with their websites. And that means transparency.

It includes online technology for social media sites. That covers text, audio, video, images, podcasts and other multimedia communications. It also provides the mechanism to post commentary or other material such as graphics or video. Furthermore, it offers a place to leave comments in an interactive format.

It provides agencies with the online tools to share documents, and allows for them to have in depth discussions with users. It also offers software for dashboards, analytics and data management, and provides tools for media applications, geographic information and knowledge management services.

Federal CIO Vivek Kundra said that Apps.gov is designed to lower costs and push innovation in the federal government. "Cloud computing is the next generation of IT in which data and applications will be housed centrally and accessible anywhere and anytime by a various devices," Kundra wrote on his blog. "By consolidating available services, Apps.gov is a one-stop source for cloud services--an innovation that not only can change how IT operates, but also save taxpayer dollars in the process."