Case Study:
Increasing Productivity and Efficiency with Cloud and Mobile Technologies
Approach. In 2009, President Obama appointed Vivek Kundra as the first U.S. Chief Information Officer (CIO). Under Kundra's leadership, the federal government stream- lined its IT efforts and encouraged agencies to move toward cloud computing solutions as a way of reducing IT spend- ing and the need for large, government owned data cen- ters. (Note: Kundra recently left government service to join Salesforce.com, a leading provider of cloud-based enter- prise solutions.)
As part of Kundra's efforts to bring transparency to the IT operations of the federal government, an IT Dashboard was created so that citizens, government employees, and IT vendors could see.
A screen shot of the federal
Users to view spending on IT projects across the federal government and to see how projects are meeting their completion goals.
Government agencies are increasingly finding that IT solutions can help them deliver critical services and information to cit- izens and businesses. In the same way that business organi- zations are learning to streamline their operations through the use of e-business processes, governments are also finding they can accomplish more, on tighter budgets, when applying the right IT solutions.
In the early days of computer and network technology, it was not unusual for government agencies to hire program- mers or IT vendors for custom software development. But this approach was expensive and oftentimes led to expen- sive failures. IT professionals in government have increasingly recognized the need for a more efficient and coordinated
Government's IT Dashboard, which allows
E-Business & E-Commerce Models and Strategies
How the government was spending its IT budget and observe the progress of various IT projects. The dashboard also brings accountability to agencies, highlighting IT proj- ects that were in trouble or outright failing. According to Kundra, the process of shedding light on these IT projects resulted in a savings of $3 billion and increased completion speed of some projects. As part of the effort to encourage government agencies to adopt cloud computing solutions, the government created Apps.gov, an online "store" where government agencies could efficiently explore products and services from a variety of vendors. The Apps.gov site, cre- ated by the General Services Administration, operates like an e-commerce site, listing cloud-based solutions in a vari- ety of categories. Links to vendor sites make it easy for government employees to find information on the listed products.
As in private industry, security is a key issue facing gov- ernment agencies that want to enhance their use of Information Technology. According to President Obama, the "cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation" and "America's eco- nomic prosperity in the 21st century will depend on cyberse- curity" (Whitehouse.gov 2012). In addition to the kinds of criminal activity discussed earlier in the chapter, the govern- ment must also design its enterprise IT systems to resist attacks by terrorists and unfriendly foreign governments. The administration created the Cybersecurity Office and appointed Howard Schmidt to serve as the Cybersecurity Coordinator. His job is to work closely with the new U.S. CIO, Steven VanRoekel, and other federal agencies to develop policies and procedures to protect the nation's IT infrastruc- ture from cyber threats. (See whitehouse.gov/cybersecurity for additional information.) The Department of Defense has par- ticularly important needs with regard to cybersecurity and operates a special agency to guide its military cyber defense strategies.
Finally, mobile technologies are playing an increasing role in the delivery of government services. Some critics have complained that government agencies have been slow to adopt mobile technologies. However, as greater numbers of administrators come to understand the cost savings and efficiencies that mobile devices can provide to an organization, agencies are adopting the use of smartphones,tablets, and other handheld devices to reduce paperwork, improve work flow, transmit data from field operations, and enhance interactions with the public. In 2011, the Department of Defense announced it was creating a spe- cial online app store for members of the military so that they could download mobile apps that had been vetted for secu- rity issues. According to DOD officials, various branches of the military are realizing that mobile technologies are par- ticularly appropriate for their mission because they provide a significant level of computing, mapping and communica- tions power in a small device for soldiers who need to be mobile (Hoover, 2011). The federal government recently created a site (apps.usa.gov) where you can find a number of mobile apps developed to provide information and serv- ices to citizens, researchers, educational institutions, and business organizations.
In conclusion, government agencies at all levels are real- izing the benefits of adopting e-business practices. Cloud and mobile technologies, in particular, are in the forefront of recent efforts to improve productivity and efficiency. New offices and officials have been charged with the responsibility of making sure that the government's IT infrastructure remains safe from cybersecurity threats. The government's use of the Internet and other IT solutions is an important factor in supporting access to information for the nation's citizens and business organizations.
Sources: Compiled from: Hoover (2011), O'Dell (2011), Whitehouse.gov (2012), Government Technology (2010).
Questions :
Question 1. Why are government agencies increasingly interested in using cloud and mobile technologies to accomplish their missions?
Question 2. Why is security even more important for government agencies than businesses in the private sector?
Question 3. What is the purpose of the new federal government IT dashboard?
Question 4. Visit the e-commerce set up to showcase cloud-based solutions to government agencies at Apps.gov. How could this site be improved to do an even better job of promoting cloud technologies to government agencies?