Kevin Jackson, vice president and general manager of cloud services at NJVC, recently analyzed cloud management brokers and their potential future roles in cloud computing for Forbes.com
Jackson describes the amount of interest that industry has received from federal agencies about CMB’s and explains how the Defense Department has begun using the brokerage model.
The Defense Information Systems Agency serves as the department’s enterprise cloud broker.
He cites Daryl Plummer, managing VP and Gartner Fellow at Gartner and chief of research for cloud computing, in saying CMB’s provide price breaks and experience working with multiple vendors.
The piece concludes with the Texas Department of Information Resources cloud brokerage model. (pictured right)
The model illustrates cloud brokerage in a government context, and according to Jackson, was created through a multi-year cloud-based project.
Jackson believes the initiative provided lessons for cloud service order reviews and potential means to regulate payment across different government entities, he wrote.
Also, he wrote the model can address the challenges of cloud model comparisons because of variables in product offerings, including the business models, service levels and package inclusions.
Government decision makers have more choices as they move to cloud computing, he concludes.
