Lucas Searle told Computer Weekly that Microsoft was working closely with central government on its G-cloud project. This aims to create vast data centres that will allow departments to share applications such as human resources and accounting, but also allow departments to run their unique applications.

Searle said the tightening government IT plus pressure to deliver front line services more efficiently meant that Microsoft’s life-time cost of ownership advantage over VMware should make a compelling argument for cash-strapped public sector CIOs.

http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2010/10/07/243215/Microsoft-aims-to-virtualise-government-IT.htm

Searle saw a “hybrid” cloud market developing in the UK

Andy Tait, the deputy director of the G Cloud initiative, datacentre consolidation and the application-store programme, said that the government will wait for a “natural break” in contracts before replacing them with “G Cloud capable services”.
Speaking at the Socitm 2010 conference in Brighton on Tuesday, Tait said that the government believed it could save 30 percent in this area by using the G Cloud.

http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/it-strategy/2010/10/14/government-will-not-cancel-contracts-to-hasten-g-cloud-40090522/

All contracts over a specified value will be published online and IT projects will be much more modular, with a possible maximum value of £100m for any single contract.

The G-Cloud is shaping up to be a key part of the government’s new IT strategy, with more details on the project emerging ahead of this months’ raft of announcements.
While most are anticipating the government’s planned cuts with trepidation, October will also see some new projects launched that are designed to overhaul the way government IT works, bringing new opportunities as well as reducing costs.
Government CIO John Suffolk’s updated IT strategy is in the process of being finalised and details on the central project, the G-Cloud, are slowly being revealed.
The G-Cloud, according to deputy government CIO Bill McCluggage, is a bad name – he says to think of it as an eBay for government, but “with a twist”.

http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2010/10/15/243372/How-the-G-Cloud-is-developing-ahead-of-the-Spending.htm

The G-Cloud will consist of five “worlds”, with separate areas for testing, hosting, web applications, SMEs and a “shared” world.

While those who developed the Internet had a clear vision and the power to make choices about the road it would take — factors that helped shape the Web — Georgetown University professor Mike Nelson wondered during a panel discussion whether the current group of developers possesses the foresight to continue growing the Internet.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/200829/cloud_computing_will_surpass_the_internet_in_importance.html

“I think there is a chance that if we push hard … we can get to this universal cloud,

Of course that still happens. Sometimes we dress it up in the guise of third-party advisors, so it’s not the client who is harassing the supplier directly, it’s the advisory firm, but things have matured. It’s clear that in most IT deals today there is more of a focus on best practice and a better appreciation of accountability.

http://www.ssonetwork.com/topic_detail.aspx?id=8392&ekfrm=6

As the British government tries to cut costs, Mark Kobayashi-Hillary warns that focusing on reducing costs rather than thinking strategically will lead to even greater problems

Indirectly, however, some are warning that swingeing public sector cuts and an increased reliance on the private sector as the main source of economic growth could bring extra pressure to bear on IT budgets, spending and procurement trends.
The coalition government’s first, interim emergency budget “supports a strong enterprise-led recovery” from record debt, according to the chancellor, George Osborne. “Yes, it is tough; but it is also fair,”

http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/analysis/2265266/largely-unscathed-austerity

But will measures be good for IT given reliance on private sector growth?

The GSA and federal officials are touting the promise of the new technology, but the Government Accountability Office warns that federal agencies remain concerned about potential security risks.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/25/AR2010062504339.html

“This is a very important program for the government because it addresses a couple things that have been inhibitors to cloud, the first being ease of procurement,” said Phil Horvitz, the company’s chief technology officer.

The GSA has given vendors until June 30 to submit bids that explain how they would install a cloud infrastructure for the government. Once all the bids have been received, the GSA will select viable contractors that federal agencies can contact for cloud services, the Washington Post reports.
“Cloud computing is inevitable,” said David McClure, associate adminstrator for the GSA’s Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies, the Washington Post relays. “It’s the speed and pace and direction that we’re always uncertain of, but it’s an inevitable move because the computing industry itself is moving in this direction.”

http://www.centerbeam.com/news/Cloud-Computing/Applicants-still-submitting-bids-for-government-cloud-services-CBOID65030686-GRPOID50590013/View.aspx

McClure’s assessment of cloud computing is accurate, based upon a recent report from IDC. Public IT cloud services revenue is expected to rise to $55.5 billion in 2014, which is nearly three and a half times as much revenue recorded in 2009

“The cloud can allow teleworkers to easily and securely access their data and work from wherever they happen to be,” Mike Bradshaw, who heads Google’s federal cloud computing program, said at a congressional hearing.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6604IU20100701

The United States, seeking to modernize technology and reduce costs, is embracing “cloud computing,” but privacy and security issues need to be ironed out during a decade-long transition, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/government/cloud-saas/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=225702093

As a report warns agencies won’t move forward without clearer policy, White House readies comprehensive cloud strategy and cybersecurity rules.