The experts within our Government Services Group maintain ongoing contact with a wide range of knowledgeable sources to stay abreast of the issues and trends that could impact the industry’s M&A climate or otherwise influence our clients’ businesses.  Following are a few of the topics addressed in our most recent Government Services Review, which is published quarterly.

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GOVERNMENT SERVICES REVIEW (2009: Q4) (View complete report)

Introduction to Cloud Computing

The cost savings associated with cloud computing is no longer lost on the federal government. While security concerns remain, the movement towards cloud computing is gaining momentum.   

The basic cloud computing foundation is comprised of a data center (servers, network switches, Internet connectivity, etc.), virtualization software (used to segment physical resources between users), an operating system (Windows, Linux, etc.) and applications (Apache, MySQL, etc.). Together, these components “power the cloud” for millions of people using popular services such as Google’s Gmail or Salesforce.com. 

Through cloud computing, the Web is the platform or basic structure on which applications stand. Windows is a platform. The Mac OS is a platform. However, a platform doesn’t have to be an operating system. Java is a platform even though it is not an operating system. Through cloud computing, users can access information and applications from a desktop PC, laptop or even an iPhone or a Blackberry as long as they have an internet connection.