Government site takes advantage of cloud

With several government agencies looking to get on board with cloud computing, one government site has already made the leap. Benefits.gov, a site hosted by the Department of Agriculture and run by the Department of Labor, uses cloud computing to reduce equipment maintenance costs.

The site, which is part of the Obama administration’s transparency initiative, allows the Department of Labor to provide citizens with information on how the government can aid them. It lists more than 1,000 federal programs run by 17 government agencies. The site is hosted on the cloud.

“Part of their mission is to provide services to other federal agencies. In our search for an adequate host, a business decision was made to continue to host with a federal government agency that we know is in compliance with all the government rules and regulations regarding technology,” said program manager Curtis Turner.

Several government agencies have turned to the cloud to help cut costs and increase efficiency. Recently, the FCC began revamping its widely criticized website, moving it to the cloud.