Cloud computing lends itself to hype, doubt and uncertainty, acknowledges Mary Davie, the General Services Administration assistant commissioner for the office of assisted acquisition, in a March 22 blog post.

But, with the Office of Management and Budget aggressively pushing cloud migration, Davie says she wants to dispel some persistent myths about cloud computing.

Cloud computing is not, in fact, any new technology but has five essential characteristics, Davie says. She links to a GSA YouTube video (with very cheesy cheery background music) that references the National Institute of Standards and Technology definition of cloud computing, which we've also summarized here.

Public clouds can be configured to be secure, based on the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the data, Davie says.

"Off-the-shelf security terms are negotiable. Open communication with industry can help agencies define their unique requirements," she says.

Agencies will not lose control of their data, Davie says, since they can enforce service level agreements for the handling of their data.

As for whether moving into the cloud is difficult, Davie says that "difficult and easy are relative terms."

"Every time you move data or applications, there is risk-regardless of whether you move the data or applications to the cloud or different platforms in your own data center," she adds.

GSA is developing cloud blanket purchase agreements that will soon be available to customers for infrastructure-as-a-service and email-as-a-service, Davie adds.

For more:
- read Davie's blog post
- watch a very chipper GSA video on cloud computing on YouTube

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