Cloud Computing it and the

Cloud Computing IT and the government has been an uneasy alliance from the public perspective ever since the 9/11 attacks in 2001. During this time, draconian measures such as the PATRIOT Act have allowed authorities to engage in surveillance and detention activities that many citizens have begun to question, especially as the dust around the terrorist issue began to settle. Cloud computing, according to an interview with Vivek Kundra, is a means of remedying the distrust cultivated between the public and the government since 2001.

According to Kundra, the main advantage of cloud computing as used by the government is the fact that it allows accountability and increased efficiency in terms of the government budget spent on information technology solutions. This includes more than surveillance and other controversial technological solutions. Indeed, according to Kundra, the U.S. government has more than 10,000 systems, making it difficult to maintain transparency, accountability and an open government. These principles are however revived by means of cloud computing.

Specifically, this means that issues such as the federal budget, along with agents responsible for its effectiveness, are now publicly available. There is no longer a sense of faceless accountability, where the pubic remains in the dark regarding the exact methods and means of government spending. The public is now allowed access to information regarding these issues that directly affect them. In addition, cloud computing allows the government to identify IT projects that are not performing according to initial expectations or that are performing at a slower pace than anticipated.

The government budget is then significantly mitigated by redistributing funds to those projects that have in fact proved useful and effective. An advantage for CIOs is that they are able to provide more regular and cleaner data to government agencies. CIOs can also now ensure that all the systems that they manage are producing the dividends that they should and are managed properly. This is made much easier and more time effective than the case was previously.

Furthermore, projects that perform poorly in terms of being behind schedule or over budget, can be turned around by means of cloud computing. From the perspective of the public, cloud computing allows not only transparency and accountability in terms of government projects, but also provides the public with a platform form which to raise their opinions regarding the level of transparency offered by the government.

This places the power of government back in the public domain, forming a more equal partnership between the public and the government than was previously possible. Previously, the government had yielded power in terms of surveillance techniques both in the public and private domain, with little thought to accountability. In addition to perceived necessities such as airport security, private invasions such as wiretapping without consent and other measures were implemented in a supposed war on terrorism. With cloud computing, these issues become subject to public measures of accountability.