US Government Launches Online Technology Storefront
September 15 2009 - 2:16PM
Dow Jones News
The U.S. government Tuesday launched an online storefront to
enable Federal agencies to buy cloud computing technology services
online.
Apps.gov, as the service is called, run by government
procurement department the General Services Administration, allows
employees at government agencies to buy software from companies
such as Salesforce.com Inc. (CRM), via an online shop.
It is part of a range of strategies that Federal technology
officials are pushing to use new technologies to crimp the
government's $75 billion annual technology budget.
Two appointees by President Obama, Chief Information Officer
Vivek Kundra and Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra are
focusing on pushing government agencies to take advantage of
developments like cloud computing - metered, online computer
applications - social media and other online and sometimes freely
available technologies where possible.
In a speech to lawmakers Tuesday, Kundra said that cloud
computing would enable the government to spend less on the
infrastructure required to run technology for its agencies.
In situations where data is non-sensitive in nature, Kundra
said, allowing agencies to browse and purchase applications via the
Apps.gov storefront would avoid the typically cumbersome
procurement cycles used by agencies in the past to acquire
technology.
"We want to get out of running infrastructure and get into
solving problems," he said. "Why must the government spend billions
of dollars on information that may not be sensitive in nature?"
Kundra said the Department of Energy was the first government
agency to enable online technology purchasing for its
employees.
-By Jessica Hodgson, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-439-6455;
jessica.hodgson@dowjones.com