Cloud Computing firmly on the Public Sector CIO Agenda

Cloud Computing is firmly on the agenda of the public sector in the U.S. in an attempt to drive down the costs of their huge IT budget - and Obama is talking about it.

A recently article in SearchCIO on Cloud Computing highlighted efforts being made in the U.S. to drive greater use of cloud computing services. The U.S. Federal CIO Vivek KundraFederal recently launched a website apps.gov to explain, promote and facilitate the procurement of cloud computing services in the U.S. public sector. Through the site, agencies can not only learn about cloud computing, but can also purchase a range of services including Business, Productivity and Social Media Applications.

Here in Ireland we have the same or, arguably, more serious budget pressures in the public sector. The U.S. has provided us with a great example of how to promote innovation in the public sector. A similar approach in Ireland is surely required?