Despite efforts to allay agency CIOs' fears around cloud computing, many cite security as a barrier to transitioning information technology to a cloud environment.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is thinking cloud first, but "the old adage 'trust but verify' is the name of the game," said Mark Day, chief technology officer at HUD, while speaking at a May 4 event in Washington, D.C. sponsored by TechAmerica.

"It's not without its moments where the comfort level may be less than you would like," he admitted.

But Day said a certain level of discomfort forces him to think hard about mitigating risk--it's just part of looking for greater efficiencies, he said. 

All federal agencies are adopting cloud computing strategies as part of the Office of Management and Budget's 25-point plan for restructuring federal IT, which requires every agency to have one cloud solution in place by December 2011 and up to three cloud-based programs by June 2012.

As agencies select what programs to move to the cloud, they are assessing several variables:

• Procurement models, reintegration of data and system integration are Day's top concerns when deciding whether or not a system can move to the cloud;
• Security "up front" rather than something that needs to be baked in later and timing, from an investment perspective, are the main factors Susan Swart, CIO at the State Department, assesses for a program's cloud readiness; and
• The business case for moving to the cloud and program maturity level are the primary considerations for Chris Smith, CIO at the Agriculture Department.

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