The US Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released for public comment a draft “roadmap” that is designed to foster federal agencies’ adoption of cloud computing, support the private sector, improve the information available to decision makers and facilitate the continued development of the cloud computing model. 

In February 2011, the government issued the Federal Cloud Computing Strategy with NIST assigned “a central [role] in defining and advancing standards, and collaborating with US government agency CIOs, private-sector experts and international bodies to identify and reach consensus on cloud computing technology and standardization priorities.”

NIST has since released the US Government Cloud Computing Technology Roadmap to support the secure and effective adoption of the cloud computing model by federal agencies to reduce costs and improve services. The agency will take public comments from now through 2 December 2011.

The draft publication defines high-priority requirements for standards, official guidance and technology developments that need to be met in order for agencies to accelerate their migration of existing IT systems to the cloud computing model.

“A key contribution of the roadmap effort is to focus the discussion to achieve a clear understanding between the government and private sector,” said Dawn Leaf, Senior Advisor for Cloud Computing, NIST.

“Particularly on the specific technical steps (standards, guidance and technology solutions) needed to move federal IT from its current early-cloud state to a cloud-based foundation, as envisioned in the US Federal Cloud Computing Strategy.”

NIST plans to issue the final US Government Cloud Computing Roadmap as a three-volume work. The first two volumes were released on 1 November 2011.

The roadmap has undergone a 60-day review exercise through the Federal Cloud Computing Standards and Technology Working Group. This NIST-led group was formed in July 2011 under the auspices of the United States Federal CIO Council and includes representatives from approximately 30 US government agencies.