Survey: Government agencies favor hybrid clouds

The federal government is a stalwart supporter of cloud computing and is migrating several of its operational services to the platform. However, some of the information stored in virtualized space by national agencies will not be for public consumption, prompting top CIOs to look for a solution that will enable them to access cloud benefits while remaining secure.

According to Government IT, the solution may be a hybrid cloud. In a recent survey by Quest, 36 percent of agency CIOs said they would prefer to operate within a hybrid cloud. Additionally, private clouds were also appealing to these technology decision-makers, as 28 percent of respondents would consider a private cloud platform.

Data protection requirements may prompt federal CIOs to seek out private and hybrid cloud offerings. According to the study, “vulnerability to security breaches was the biggest barrier to public cloud adoption.”

Hybrid platforms may also provide more stringent security needs, though they may be more compatible with public access modes. According to Cybermedia India Online Limited, this computing mode has gained greater acceptance in the past year and may be a more viable business solution than a private cloud due to its ability to reduce costs.