The move to adopt cloud technologies by federal agencies has opened up IT opportunities for many vendors. As momentum builds within these agencies to explore the cloud, support is coming from other quarters. Last week, for example, by Rep. Gerry Connolly said that “Cloud computing offers the federal government several potential benefits, including savings related to economies of scale, reduced capital investments, and fewer service disruptions due to resiliency of the cloud compared to a single server or data center.”

U.S. government agencies will be moving quickly to implement contracting reforms for the procurement of information technology in the wake of policy changes revealed last week by the Office of Management and Budget. For IT vendors competing for a share of the $80 billion annual federal IT market, keeping close track of the procurement changes will be crucial to business success. The procurement reforms are based on OMB’s assessment that huge federal IT investments have largely failed to achieve the same level of productivity as similar investments by the private sector.

The U.S. General Services Administration selected more than a dozen companies to provide cloud-based information technology products for federal agencies last month, signaling a concrete investment in the cloud environment and underscoring the federal commitment to using the technology. GSA said it would make a total of $122 million available for two programs. “Cloud computing services help to deliver on this administration’s commitment to provide better value for the American taxpayer by making government more efficient,” said Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra.