Everybody has an App store these days: Apple, Palm, RIM, Google, Nokia and… the US federal government?
Launched last week, Apps.gov is an online storefront for federal agencies to purchase cloud computing applications and services. This one-stop shop includes a selection of business and productivity apps, cloud IT services, and free social media tools such as Wordpress, MySpace and YouTube.
As part of the Federal Cloud Computing Initiative, the aim of Apps.gov is to streamline the government’s IT procurement process by encouraging agencies to implement pre-approved, commercially available services. This plan to modernize government IT will increase flexibility and open communication, and ultimately, save tax payer dollars.
The store is still early in its development, but a quick browse through Apps.gov is revealing:
- Salesforce and Google, major cloud computing players, are prevalent in the business and productivity apps categories.
- More interesting is the social media category where venture-backed startups such as Scribd (document storage and sharing), and Blip.tv (videos and podcasts) appear.
With government as customer, Apps.gov represents a huge opportunity for not only large players, but also for existing cloud computing companies that offer unique solutions. Gartner’s 2009 Hype Cycle predicts cloud computing, now at its “peak of inflated expectations,” will become mainstream within two to five years.
This bold move by government validates current cloud offerings in an early market where despite the hype, many enterprises are still grappling with issues such as security, dependability and integration. In April 2009, McKinsey garnered attention after publishing its Clearing the Air on Cloud Computing report, which concluded that cloud computing in large corporations, rather than saving money, actually costs more.
Meanwhile, despite existing concerns, the government is going forward and pushing innovation top-down. In one fell swoop this initiative eliminates procurement and security barriers, freeing agencies to focus on using (not choosing) technology to accomplish their work. I hope they take advantage of it.
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June is an information specialist at MaRS and a recent graduate of the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto.
