The 21st century has been groundbreaking in terms of how technology boomed and spread its mighty web across every institution, organization, states, and countries. Today, as part of the Digital Transformation strategy, organizations are modernizing their apps, moving to mobile technologies, and trying to dip into the artificial intelligence available on the market. If there is one single advancement that has made this happen, then it is undoubtedly the Cloud Technology.
In 2010, the US government issued the Federal Cloud Computing Strategy, which instituted the “Cloud First” policy, suggesting that cloud solutions be considered as a part of any new IT investment decisions. This policy was augmented in 2018 with updated guidelines about security measures, procurement, and skill requirements outlined in the “Cloud Smart” initiative that encourages the cloud adoption in government sectors.
Cloud Adoption and its roots in Government agencies
For the government sector, security and data integrity are the utmost priorities, as it holds gigantic amounts of sensitive data that is crucial to the state. So, it becomes important for the cloud services to provide a high degree of assurance that all the confidential datasets are wrapped up comfortably under a constantly evolving security blanket. Also, the data reports that the government shares with the outside agencies and vendors should be shared securely without any data breaches.
The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program is widely used by the agencies to avoid any mishap and set a standard for security assessment and authorization, as well as monitoring for cloud products and services. After the amalgamation with Fed RAMP, government sectors are more eager to set their foot into the waters of cloud adoption now at peace to store and transmit sensitive government workloads.
Crucial Steps for Cloud Adoption in Government Sector
Awareness- The First Line of Defense
When it comes to security, knowledge is the key. Only when the employees are aware of the security threats, we can demolish the insider threats. According to the Ponemon Institute, if the insider threat involves a negligent employee or contractor, each incident can average $283,281. The average cost doubles to $607,745 if the event consists of an imposter or a thief who steals credentials. That is why it is a must for government organizations to train the employees to thwart insider threats. During this training, use cases of different insider threats can also be taught to employees so that similar incidents can be prevented.
Layout the Requirements:
For the government sector, most datasets are confidential. Before initiating the Cloud adoption phase, government officials must determine what level of security they require. Moreover, the government sector should have all the specialists on board as moving into the cloud needs IT aficionados who can cover the knowledge gaps and assist the officials in the technology evolution. Depending upon the requirement, you can opt for remote teams or contract workers. Additionally, you should also train your employees with new skills with the evolving digital landscape and make sure they keep pace with the current rapid-paced environment.
Devise an Effective Strategy:
Once the requirements are sorted, devise out an effective strategy for cloud adoption. Define the objectives, set the standards, develop a timeline, and be flexible as with the current digital transformation, change is the only constant, be ready to mold your solutions with the future changes. Of all, make sure you are in line with the regulatory standards.
Faster Disaster Recovery
The National Archives and Records Administration report states that 93% of companies that experience data loss and downtime, extending for ten or more days, will undergo bankruptcy within 12 months. Unlike business organizations, this can have a significant impact on the government sector within a day. Henceforth, whatever cloud strategy you devise, you should always ensure that you have high-speed data recovery set in place before taking a step towards the cloud adoption programs.
Cloud Adoption draws a hefty share of utilization within the commercial boundaries, but it as well turns out to be an excellent investment in terms of public care and government agencies.
Are you planning to move forward with Cloud Adoption, but are still in doubt? If yes, schedule a call with our experts today!
