Bob Gourley

Our nation’s technologists have always come to the aide of their nation. There are many great exemplars in this domain. Two of my personal favorites are:

• Edwin Land, inventor famous for his work on consumer cameras but also a key designer of reconnaissance systems (including the U2).
• Frederick Terman, the thinker most responsible for creating what is now Silicon Valley, and the lead researcher on some of the most significant US/allied technologies in World War II.

I know 100s of others currently serving who even more famous in the consumer technology world but prefer to serve in silence.  I’ll save some of those stories for the distant future.

But now I’d lik to write about you. Are you an enterprise-class CTO with a deep knowledge of  ”Cloud Computing” constructs? Are you motivated by the same sense of patriotism that Frederick Terman and Edwin Land were?

If so I would like to bring your attention to an open collaboration site that is calling out for your participation.

The site is hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). NIST has been asked by Federal CIO Vivek Kundra to help accelerate the federal government’s secure adoption of cloud computing by leading efforts to develop relevant standards and guidelines. NIST will be using many means to solicit input and coordinate, but one of the easiest to use is their Twiki-based online collaborative site at: http://collaborate.nist.gov/twiki-cloud-computing/bin/view/CloudComputing/WebHome

Please visit that site, learn how to login, review the needs articulated there, and contribute to this important collaborative effort.

I’ll see you online.

I would also like to mention that many other efforts and activities related to the cloud are underway.  If you are in the national security space, for example, consider joining the cloud and cyber best practice coordination activities underway at INSA.  For more on how to join INSA see http://insaonline.org

More from the NIST website:

General Information

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been designated by Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra to accelerate the federal government’s secure adoption of cloud computing by leading efforts to develop standards and guidelines in close consultation and collaboration with standards bodies, the private sector, and other stakeholders. Computer science researchers at NIST are working on two complementary efforts to speed the government’s quick and secure adoption of cloud computing.

NIST’s long term goal is to provide thought leadership and guidance around the cloud computing paradigm to catalyze its use within industry and government. NIST aims to shorten the adoption cycle, which will enable near-term cost savings and increased ability to quickly create and deploy safe and secure enterprise applications. NIST aims to foster cloud computing systems and practices that support interoperability, portability, and security requirements that are appropriate and achievable for important usage scenarios.

The NIST area of focus is technology, and specifically, interoperability, portability and security requirements, standards and guidance. The intent is use the strategy to prioritize NIST tactical projects which support US government agencies in the secure and effective adoption of the cloud computing model to support their missions.The expectation is that the set of priorities (“the Roadmap”) will be useful more broadly by industry, Standards Development Organizations, cloud adopters, and policy makers.

More info:

Related articles

• NIST Issues Cloud Security Guidelines (informationweek.com)
• Expressing requirements for security in the cloud (ctovision.com)
• NIST To Develop Cloud Roadmap (informationweek.com)
• NIST Reorg and the Cloud (flyingpenguin.com)
• Navigating the Cloudy Waters of Cloud Standards (itexpertvoice.com)
• NIST announces Koala project (flyingpenguin.com)

Related posts:

1. Gov 2.0: Cloud Computing As Government Panacea
2. What is Cloud Computing: I’m forming up on the NIST view
3. Apps.gov brings cloud computing to the Federal government