Investigating the Cloud in the Public Sector: Executive Brief

Investigating the Cloud in the Public Sector

EXECUTIVE RESEARCH BRIEF

“I BELIEVE THAT THE CLOUD IS AN EVOLVING WAY TO DELIVER TECHNOLOGY AND BUSINESS APPLICATIONS. ORGANIZATIONS NEED TO THINK THROUGH THEIR CLOUD STRATEGY, AND MUST THINK ABOUT IT AS IF IT WAS ANY STRATEGIC OPERATIONAL CHANGE. THIS MEANS YOU NEED TO ANALYZE IT, YOU NEED TO PLAN IT, AND YOU NEED TO CONTINUE TO MONITOR AND IMPROVE.” - Aaron Erickson, director of government innovation at Oracle.

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Oracle Executive Research Brief

Investigating the Cloud in the Public Sector EXECUTIVE RESEARCH BRIEF

As a government leader, you are constantly challenged to identify new and innovative solutions to drive change within your agency. On a daily basis, you are required to consider how to cut costs and increase efficiencies for your agency. This executive research brief provides you with the unique opportunity to learn how to reinvent your agency through cloud computing. Specifically, this executive brief includes: • Analysis from a GovLoop survey of 196 public sector professionals • Perspectives on cloud computing from two Oracle experts • Best practices and challenges for cloud adoption in the public sector • Insights on cloud computing’s role in shaping the future of government

GOVLOOP SURVEY RESULTS: PERSPECTIVES ON CLOUD ADOPTION IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR This section will share with you the results of the GovLoop and Oracle survey, providing you with perspectives on how your peers have adopted the cloud in the public sector. Our survey included responses from state, local, federal and international public sector employees (See Figure 1).

We explored how organizations are currently using the cloud (See Figure 2) and their primary focus (See Figure 3). Our findings highlight that the cloud is being adopted across a variety of agencies and FIGURE 1:

What level of government do you work for?

3% INTERNATIONAL

Your journey to the cloud requires a commitment to understanding the unique requirements and opportunities the cloud presents, and this report is your first step. Armed with this information, you can create a tailor made solution for your agency and become a bright spot in government innovation.

54%

17%

FEDERAL

STATE

26%

LOCAL

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with various mission objectives. Participants provided insights that the cloud is being used to assist in: • Marketing • Monitoring budgets • Citizen engagement • Open government • Sharing GIS licenses and software • Land management Aaron Erickson, director of government innovation at Oracle, echoed these findings as he said, “We’ve seen cloud adoption at various levels, through infrastructure solutions, platform solutions and more adoption for software as a service (SaaS). Agencies are leveraging the cloud for business applications and IT infrastructure.”

How are you using the cloud?

21% 19%

Bob Croker, senior director of strategic programs at Oracle, shared one interesting observation about the cloud’s impact in government, “The cloud frees a lot of government agencies from either their embedded IT constraints or the central IT limitations, and puts functional owners in the driver’s seat.”

Although the cloud has certainly made an impact on organizations, the cloud is also changing the role of the public sector professional. “For the IT folks, their skill set changes, depending on the flavor of cloud. If we are talking about infrastructure as a service (IaaS), the database administrator is still a

FIGURE 2:

31%

Additionally, the survey found that the primary use of cloud is for reporting and analytics (31 percent, see Figure 2). Other instances of cloud adoption include document sharing, calendars, data storage, day-to-day computing, email, GIS, and utility billing. Cloud computing offers the ability for organizations to meet a variety of mission needs and serve stakeholders in transformative ways. Erickson noted, “cloud will not change the core business of government, it is a new delivery model that has changed the way government delivers services both internally and externally.”

REPORTING AND ANALYTICS

FIGURE 3:

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Which of the following represents your organization’s primary focus?

HR / TALENT MANAGEMENT TAX REVENUE

8%

SUPPLY CHAIN

55%

OTHER *

TRANSPORTATION LAW ENFORCEMENT/ PUBLIC SAFETY

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58%

OTHER *

6% 11%

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

* Document sharing / calendars , collaboration, communication, data center transfer, data storage, day to day computing, email, GIS, utility billing, data availability, unsure

3

3% 4%

EDUCATION

FINANCIAL REPORTING

SOCIAL SERVICES

7%

3%

15%

* Marketing, budgeting, census, chamber of commerce, citizen engagement / open government, GIS, land management, municipal government

database administrator. If we are talking about software as a service (SaaS) with the cloud, agencies don’t need the technical expertise, but they do need to have the functional expertise to figure out how to configure cloud applications,” said Croker.

We also explored the kinds of cloud solutions used by the public sector, and asked participants if they have adopted a cloud solution in the last 6-12 months. These findings can be found in Figures 4 and 5. For 31 percent of respondents, they are unaware if their agency has selected a hybrid, public, private, public cloud with commercial or public government cloud only. The 31 percent “unsure” statistic indicates that respondents are more concerned with the outcomes of cloud applications, rather than specific solution options. The best practice for organizations is to train appropriately and adopt the right solution to fit mission need. For some agencies, this could mean a hybrid solution, for others a private cloud.

We also wanted to learn why 68 percent of agencies have yet to adopt the cloud. Responses included: • “My agency is very concerned about security, for good reason.”

• “The budget is not enough for this year.”

• “I have to convince many stake holders.”

• “We are moving towards that direction, because the network of servers we have now are not efficient enough for the large datasets that we use and access everyday.”

• “We have been migrating our email services from a mixed public cloud to a governmentonly cloud. This has made us pause and ensure that any future cloud project is compliant with all government regulations, leaning towards a government-only cloud tendency.”

FIGURE 4:

What kind of cloud deployment are you most focused on in your cloud roadmap?

35% 6%

PUBLIC CLOUD GOVERNMENT ONLY

PUBLIC CLOUD W/COMMERCIAL

8%

PUBLIC

17%

HYBRID

31% UNSURE

25% PRIVATE FIGURE 5:

Have you adopted a cloud solution in the last 6 -12 months?

32% YES

68% NO

FIGURE 6:

What are the top reasons you are using the cloud?

47%

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

46%

IMPROVED ORGANIZATIONAL EFFICIENCY

33% 23%

SCALABILITY / FLEXIBILITY

IMPROVED EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY

39%

OTHER *

* Business agility, centralized data, compatibility of systems, costs, not using the cloud

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Lastly, we asked our participants to select the top reasons for cloud adoption (Figure 6). The main benefit noted in our survey was access to information (47 percent). Additional insights included business agility, centralized data, compatibility of systems and cost reductions.

Erickson also noted the benefits of the cloud: “We are seeing lower total cost of ownership when agencies adopt the right cloud strategy. We are also

seeing it be much easier for organizations to stay current with security patches and upgrades. Currently, we are working with a customer who wants to move to the cloud primarily because their own IT staff recently had a large number key personal retire and they simply don’t have the resources to keep up with all the IT patches and fixes. If they move to the cloud and security becomes part of the service level agreement (SLA), they know they will always be in compliance.”

BEST PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES FOR CLOUD ADOPTION As we’ve already described the current state of cloud adoption in government, this section will highlight best practices towards proper implementation. Although the cloud has the potential to transform your agency, there are some unique challenges and obstacles to overcome. “As is the case with any major IT project, any time there is change there is a degree of uncertainty of why [an organization is] making the change. We often see that a lot of the challenges with cloud that we also see on any traditional large IT adoption,” said Erickson.

Our survey asked participants to identify unique challenges based on their solution type, which is explored in Figure 7.

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Bob Croker identified that the lack of security standards and policies among states and localities will slow down cloud adoption, “Not having uniform standards will cause people to freeze in their tracks, so we expect many governments to leverage federal standards knowing they provide adequate security.”

To help you overcome roadblocks and obstacles, we have identified common best practices for cloud adoption. Below are eight best practices and items to consider when selecting a cloud computing solution.

FIGURE 7:

What are your most pressing challenges with the following cloud solutions?

YOUR FINANCIAL REPORTING SOLUTION

HR / TALENT MANAGEMENT CLOUD SOLUTION

“Integrating the silos that exist among our bureaus”

REPORTING AND ANALYTICS CLOUD SOLUTION

“Getting buy in from others”

“Lack of cost effective government owned options”

“Trying to figure out what is worth measuring in the ocean of information we have at our disposal. This is now a strategic thrust for us through 2017, and we are working on a plan for business intelligence and data analytics.”

“Not enough training” “Providing private cloud verse shared cloud services”

CUSTOMER SERVICE CLOUD SOLUTION “Integration with premise-based solutions.”

“Sharing information real time with our client, that´s our 2014 main challenge.”

“Ensuring that we keep a focus on security, where the data in the cloud is accessed by our business partners.”

“The lack of program funding, time and shortage of staff. Everyone is taking on more responsibility with fewer employees.”

“Trusting that all the required information is being gathered from the same programs located in the cloud. Building the trust and reformulating or setting up new reporting systems.”

“Data analysis of time sensitive material and security of cloud network sharing of information.”

SUPPLY CHAIN CLOUD SOLUTION “Double entry due to inadequacies of the financial system” “Getting agency personnel buy in” “Security, integrity of the information, predictable and reliable access”

1. Gather Support From Leadership As is the case with any large scale IT program, gathering support from key decision makers and stakeholders is essential. A member of the GovLoop community advised, “Get early buy-in with knowledgeable IT management. Early adopters are key.” Another said, “Look out for employee push back, issues with proprietary programs and access issues.” An additional participant noted that in order to help assist with any cultural changes, it is essential to “have one-on-one talks with staff in order to effect some culture changes.”

Our survey also explored who should be leading a cloud implementation. Figure 8 explores these findings. The majority of our respondents believe that the Chief Information Officer (CIO) should be leading cloud adoption strategies. Croker added additional insights as to who should manage cloud adoption. “To me, it’s got to be to the business

and/or operations side of the house, knowing that there is a switching cost that is not insignificant for virtually any enterprise function,” said Croker.

FIGURE 8:

Who is leading your cloud implementation strategy? (Select all that apply) 42% 32% 6%

CIO

CTO

COO

3%

CFO

1%

CHCO

30%

OTHER C SUITE *

* Department staff, IT specialist, knowledge management, multiple – no point of content, operations managers, consults, web masters and IT, not sure

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2. Collaborate With Stakeholders Similar to gathering buy-in, you must collaborate across your agency to be sure you have identified the right solution that fits the needs of your organization. “Get together with other divisions to consolidate and plan the cloud approach and data sharing to minimize costs,” said a GovLoop member.

Another added, “Organization is key. Cloud-based file sharing and production makes things so easy and convenient, but if good organization of those files is not maintained, then all that efficiency is lost as well.” Many survey participants said that it is essential to develop strong governance and business rules that are agreed upon across divisions using the cloud, which requires effective communication and collaboration.

3. Partner With a Reliable Service Provider Our survey also found that agencies must select a reliable and secure service provider. One participant indicated the importance of, “effective due diligence on commercial service providers and verified record of reliability.” In choosing a reliable vendor, Oracle’s Erickson noted, “Two important elements are financial security and commitment to the market. You need to know your cloud vendor is going to be there long term, and that they have thought through how to deploy the cloud properly for government customers.” Our survey also asked, “When you are picking a cloud vendor, what is most important?” The full results can be found in Figure 9, with the leading outcome being “meeting government mandates.”

4. Assure Compatibility When Migrating Applications Another best practice was the need to assure compatibility with applications running in the cloud. “Be

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Oracle Executive Research Brief

sure that you can actually retrofit applications to be architected in the cloud,” said one survey participant. Participants noted that organizations are able to test challenges and work through issues prior to a broader release by running pilot projects. Another respondent noted, “Be sure to understand file ownership and permissions so that when staffing changes you retain access to critical documents.”

5. Provide Effective Training Methods to Employees As new systems roll out, users must be adequately trained to understand how to use new systems and understand how it impacts day-to-day operations.

As a recommendation for cloud adoption, one survey respondent said, “You must place an extra emphasis on advanced testing and training personnel.”

Yet, the success of training employees effectively hinges on selecting the right tool. The cloud offers dozens of solutions, and agencies must invest the time to learn what is best for their organization’s FIGURE 9:

When you are picking a cloud vendor, what is most important?

58% 36% 34% 18%

MEETING GOVERNMENT MANDATES

INTEGRATION COMPLIANCE STANDARD

REPORTING

12% 24%

SINGLE SOLUTION OTHER *

* Availability, congress, cost and compatibility with systems, hybrid, open-stack support, meets client business needs, price and maintenance costs, security

unique needs. “Change management is a key component to any transformation and cloud is no different. There are leading training and testing solutions that are cloud based, so you can actually use the cloud to train resources on the cloud. I think that is a clever way to help overall adoption and will get employees using the cloud ahead of the actual core system deployment” said Erickson.

6. Create Robust Security Standards Security was noted as the leading challenge for adopting the cloud. Our industry experts and survey participants provided some suggestions on how to stay secure, and still adopt the cloud. “You absolutely need to make sure the hardware and network capabilities are in place (and are upgraded routinely and as needed) to genuinely maximize the system’s capabilities. An underpowered system, be it the network, servers, interface system (zero or thin client, tablet, desktop, etc.) is a critical failure that leads to frustrated employees and a lot of lost work time and productivity,” said a survey respondent.

Especially at the state and local level, there is a need to adopt security standards around cloud adoption. Without have standards in place, organizations become more vulnerable to data leaks or attacks. “Certainly, as a vendor we would like to see people adopt the federal standards rather than create their own. When you think about multi-tenancy, regardless of what level of the architectural stack that tenancy occurs, if your provider is trying to serve multiple clients on one stack with multiple standards, your business model is going to be challenged,” said Croker.

7. Implement Agile Methodology Across government, there has been a call to move towards agile IT deployment, or the method of

small iterations, rather than the traditional waterfall approach, which deploys everything at once.

“Development approaches need to improve to real agile development from waterfall, which is the base methodology currently used. [They need to] include all technical principals on challenging each other, and fix problems when they are small and invisible before getting big. No single program manager should be put in this responsibility. Instead, have passionate technical leads work together,” said a survey respondent.

8. Adopt Scalable Cloud Solutions For cloud computing to advance in government, agencies must continue to adopt solutions that will be able to scale to meet future needs. Cloud offers the chance for on-demand resources, realtime data access and additional access to computing power. At present, these may not be a pressing priority, but in the future agencies must be able to swiftly adjust to meet stakeholder needs. “Agencies should look for a platform that is easy to learn, and that is easy to scale for more users. Agencies should look out for quick fixes as this could lead to becoming stuck with a bad program that cannot be moved to a better one easily,” said a survey participant.

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CLOUD COMPUTING AND THE FUTURE OF GOVERNMENT Cloud computing will continue to shape government, and allow increased collaboration and access to information across government. We asked our industry experts and GovLoop community to identify what they see as the next phase of cloud, and the impact it will make in the public sector.

“We are going to continue to see cloud adoption.

I think the right answer for most organizations is going to be selecting a hybrid model. Organizations will continue to identify what solutions they want to run in-house and what solutions to put in the cloud. I think that, at the end of the day organizations will keep the majority of mission critical solutions in house and leverage the cloud for infrastructure, back-office and enabling technologies,” said Erickson.

The GovLoop community also provided additional insights on the future of cloud computing. They said cloud computing is: • “A way to implement common business practices and eliminate redundancy.”

• “A platform for collaborative decision making.”

• “Important for sharing between agencies and institutions.”

• “…the mainstream way for accessing and collecting information, interactive communications and virtual meeting platforms.”

• “The single source for most constituent-driven requests and the ability to drill down and report data.”

Moreover, one respondent also said they “would love to see it being used by employees to access information in the field and to share documents across the agency.”

These insights are just the beginning of the impact that cloud will make in the public sector. As standards and implementation strategies continue to mature, more agencies will adopt the cloud and leverage it to transform their operations. This report provided you with an overview of the current state of cloud, and the impact cloud computing is making in government. We also gave you tactical and practical best practices to make cloud a reality for your agency.

“I SEE IT AS THE FUTURE OF HOW WE WORK. I PARTICULARLY LIKE THE IDEA OF HAVING ACCESS TO SOFTWARE VIA THE CLOUD THAT I MAY ONLY NEED TO USE ONCE IN A WHILE. I ALSO SEE IT AS CRITICAL TO HAVING A MOBILE OFFICE, AND MORE FLEXIBILITY TO WORK FROM HOME.” - GovLoop survey participant.

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Oracle Executive Research Brief

Government is at a crossroads. Today, technology is leading government into the future, helping to modernize and transform how government agencies operate. By adopting the cloud, you will put your agency on the path for future adoptions and making government more efficient, effective, and re-energize your organization by transforming the way you deliver services.

ABOUT ORACLE Oracle provides public-sector leaders with a complete, open, and secure suite of cloud enabled applications, technologies, servers, and storage solutionsengineered to work together to optimize every aspect of government operations.

The Oracle Difference • Only Oracle enables the next generation of governmentservices delivery with flexible systems that integrate across functions anddepartments • Oracle built the Oracle Government Cloud, a comprehensive, flexible and cost effective suite of cloud applications and solutions, specifically for government to provide the broadest and most complete portfolio of public, private and hybrid cloud offerings

ABOUT GOVLOOP GovLoop’s mission is to “connect government to improve government.” We aim to inspire public sector professionals by serving as the knowledge network for government. GovLoop connects more than 100,000 members, fostering cross-government collaboration, solving common problems and advancing government careers. GovLoop is headquartered in Washington D.C. with a team of dedicated professionals who share a commitment to connect and improve government.

For more information about this report, please reach out to Pat Fiorenza, Senior Research Analyst, GovLoop, at pat@govloop.com, or follow him on Twitter: @pjfiorenza GovLoop 1101 15th St NW, Suite 900 Washington, DC 20005 Phone: (202) 407-7421 Fax: (202) 407-7501 Twitter: @GovLoop

• Oracle Public Sector empowers modern government to embrace and fully leverage the opportunities of modern trends and technologies - big data, analytics, citizen experience, mobile, social and more • Oracle Public Sector solutions transform government service delivery by providing a common service-delivery platform, automating policy and process, managing master data, embedding business intelligence and analytics and enabling self-service processes View all of Oracle’s Public Sector Resources at: http://www.oracle.com/us/industries/public-sector/resources/index.html

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