The Cloud Can Save Us Billions...But Can We Afford it?

Yesterday the Oregon state treasurer's office announced that it has seen power consumption in its data center drop 25% in the first month since it adopted a virtualized infrastructure.

That kind of example makes it seem like cloud computing and virtualization are viable options for leaders at the state and federal levels of government. It's a correct assumption. But the reality is all together different.

This week the Obama administration ordered a stop in upgrades to 30 major information technology projects, a decision that, according to The Washington Post, impacts about $20 billion in government spending. The projects were designed to upgrade computer systems that manage financial information and transactions for federal agencies.

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