Embracing the Future with Cloud Smart – Part 1: What Is Cloud Smart?
Written by: Marwan Abu-Fadel 02/28/2025Embracing the Future with Cloud Smart – Part 1: What Is Cloud Smart?
Cloud computing has become a fundamental pillar of modernization for businesses and governments in information technology systems. But cloud adoption is not just a tech initiative; it is a business transformation effort.
Cloud computing has become a fundamental pillar of modernization for businesses and governments in information technology systems. But cloud adoption is not just a tech initiative; it is a business transformation effort.
What Is Cloud Smart?
Cloud Smart is a strategy designed to help organizations modernize their IT infrastructure by leveraging cloud computing. This strategy replaces the Cloud First initiative, which advised organizations to default to cloud technologies. Cloud Smart offers a more pragmatic and flexible approach to switching to cloud technologies. It emphasizes tailoring cloud solutions to meet specific organizational needs.
Benefits:
The Cloud Smart strategy streamlines cloud adoption while addressing the challenges of security, cost-efficiency, and workforce readiness. These are considered the three pillars of Cloud Smart.
1. Security
In today's digital age, security is non-negotiable. Cloud Smart builds a secure foundation for cloud adoption by integrating advanced security measures, such as Zero Trust Architecture, continuous monitoring, and encryption. Organizations are encouraged to adopt a "secure by design" philosophy, ensuring that security is well thought out at every stage of cloud implementation.
Key practices include:
2. Procurement (Cost)
Procurement is not just about acquiring technology—it's about acquiring the right technology for the right price. Cloud Smart promoters offer flexible procurement practices that allow organizations to assess cloud service offerings based on their unique requirements. This approach avoids vendor lock-in and ensures that cloud investments align with long-term objectives.
Organizations are encouraged to:
3. Workforce Readiness
Cloud Smart underscores the importance of cultivating a workforce capable of leveraging modern cloud technologies. This involves upskilling employees, providing training on cloud-specific tools, and fostering a culture of innovation.
Strategies to empower the workforce include:
Why Cloud Smart Matters
The Cloud Smart strategy is to embrace change to drive efficiency, scalability, and mission success.
A federal agency migrating to the cloud under Cloud Smart might:
Cloud Smart is a strategy designed to help organizations modernize their IT infrastructure by leveraging cloud computing. This strategy replaces the Cloud First initiative, which advised organizations to default to cloud technologies. Cloud Smart offers a more pragmatic and flexible approach to switching to cloud technologies. It emphasizes tailoring cloud solutions to meet specific organizational needs.
Benefits:
- Improved Efficiency: Tailored cloud solutions help organizations avoid waste and maximize resources.
- Enhanced Security: Advanced measures protect sensitive data and mitigate cyber threats.
- Cost Savings: Flexible procurement and usage optimization reduce unnecessary expenses.
- Scalability: Organizations can scale their IT infrastructure to adapt to growth and demand changes.
The Cloud Smart strategy streamlines cloud adoption while addressing the challenges of security, cost-efficiency, and workforce readiness. These are considered the three pillars of Cloud Smart.
1. Security
In today's digital age, security is non-negotiable. Cloud Smart builds a secure foundation for cloud adoption by integrating advanced security measures, such as Zero Trust Architecture, continuous monitoring, and encryption. Organizations are encouraged to adopt a "secure by design" philosophy, ensuring that security is well thought out at every stage of cloud implementation.
Key practices include:
- Implementing robust identity and access management.
- Regularly auditing cloud environments for vulnerabilities.
- Partnering with subject matter experts that comply with rigorous security standards.
2. Procurement (Cost)
Procurement is not just about acquiring technology—it's about acquiring the right technology for the right price. Cloud Smart promoters offer flexible procurement practices that allow organizations to assess cloud service offerings based on their unique requirements. This approach avoids vendor lock-in and ensures that cloud investments align with long-term objectives.
Organizations are encouraged to:
- Conduct thorough market research to identify the best-fit solutions.
- Negotiate contracts that prioritize scalability and interoperability.
- Use hybrid and multi-cloud strategies to enhance flexibility.
- Focus on Total Cost of Ownership, including operational expenses, scalability, and hidden costs.
- Leveraging shared services and existing contracts to lower costs.
3. Workforce Readiness
Cloud Smart underscores the importance of cultivating a workforce capable of leveraging modern cloud technologies. This involves upskilling employees, providing training on cloud-specific tools, and fostering a culture of innovation.
Strategies to empower the workforce include:
- Offering hands-on training and certifications in cloud computing.
- Promoting collaboration across IT and business units to bridge knowledge gaps.
- Encouraging innovation by adopting DevOps and Agile methodologies.
Why Cloud Smart Matters
The Cloud Smart strategy is to embrace change to drive efficiency, scalability, and mission success.
A federal agency migrating to the cloud under Cloud Smart might:
- Assess their legacy systems and decide to migrate customer-facing applications to a public cloud while keeping sensitive data in a private cloud.
- Procure cloud services using a government-wide acquisition contract, ensuring compliance with FedRAMP security standards.
- Train their IT staff in Amazon Web Services and Azure certifications while adopting DevOps for rapid development cycles.
- Implement Zero Trust principles for secure access and real-time monitoring to detect anomalies.
