The Department of Veterans Affairs has issued a FedRAMP authority to operate for Microsoft’s Azure Cloud, which covers VA’s most sensitive data, Microsoft announced. […]

Agencies whose websites ranked low in the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation’s study of government websites can improve by moving to the cloud, industry experts say. […]

Microsoft on Monday announced the general availability of Power BI Pro and HD Insights data visualization tools and a preview of its Cognitive Insights on the Azure Government cloud. […]

Agency chief information officers realize the need to convert from on-premise data centers to the cloud, but still find it challenging to convince agency heads that it’s a necessary step. David Bray, CIO of the Federal Communications Commission, said Feb. 8 at the Cloud Computing Caucus Advisory Group meeting, “If you are wedded to legacy systems you are trying to turn a battleship very, very slowly.” […]

The General Services Administration announced that cloud.gov, 18F’s service that enables Federal agencies to host and update websites and Web applications, had obtained a Provisional Authority to Operate from the FedRAMP Joint Authorization Board. […]

Microsoft announced that its Azure and Office 365 cloud service became the first commercial cloud to be awarded Impact Level 5 DoD Provisional Authorization by the Defense Information Systems Agency, which allows the cloud to store the most sensitive, controlled, unclassified information. Microsoft also announced general availability of the service to all validated Department of Defense customers. […]

General Dynamics Information Technology is on a mission–to help agencies make sense of cloud computing. Cloud migration can be challenging–agencies are constrained by regulations, pressed by tight budgets, and limited by legacy systems. But, those anxieties don’t need to stifle innovation. […]

The merger of the two leading FedRAMP third-party assessment organizations is raising significant concerns about the ability of small and midsized businesses to compete for Federal cloud contracts. Coalfire, the No. 2 FedRAMP 3PAO, announced last month it has acquired Veris Group, the leading provider of the mandatory security assessments for cloud service providers that want to sell their products and services to Federal agencies. […]

The General Services Administration is working on a new approach to the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, which would allow agencies to bypass certain security requirements based on the type of data being collected. […]

Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., called on the Department of Defense to stop being a “rogue elephant” when it comes to cloud authorization and the FedRAMP process. […]

Over the past few years, many government agencies have turned from doubting and distrusting the cloud to fully embracing its potential, according to Microsoft executives. […]

Recent cloud adoptions have enabled government agencies, both on the Federal and state and local levels, to process data much faster than before, and those cloud services are becoming easier to get, according to panelists at the Microsoft Government Cloud Forum. […]

Microsoft on Tuesday announced new advancements to its government cloud offerings, which will expand its ability to store Department of Defense data and increase the number of regions in which their data centers are available. […]

The General Services Administration announced that the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Government was issued a Provisional Authority to Operate by the Joint Authorization Board on Sept. 22, the first product to receive one through the new FedRAMP Accelerated program. […]

FedRAMP needs to adopt a modular approach, according to many of the 41 chief information officers and IT officials that responded to the Professional Services Council’s 2016 Federal CIO Survey. […]

The Department of Commerce uses a system to encourage employees to report on the tools they’re using outside of the information security boundaries. […]

Facing criticism over the awkward nature of the FedRAMP process and the use of $150,000 to create a FedRAMP Dashboard that already exists in the private sector, the GSA was told on Tuesday that it needed to clean up the program or have Congress step in. […]

Facing criticism that $150,000 was spent to create a FedRAMP dashboard virtually identical to the existing FedRAMP OnRamp dashboard, the General Services Administration said that the new dashboard performs unique functions and that it has processes in place to ensure that systems are not unnecessarily duplicated. […]

In the five years since the government has encouraged agencies to transition to the cloud, spending on cloud-based technologies has increased to about 9 percent, which is a good pace, according to Tom Ruff, vice president of Public Sector America at Akamai. […]

Unified Communications company collab9 is seeking to give Federal agencies both flexibility and security in communication systems through its recent FedRAMP authorization, the first of a Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS) provider. […]

MeriTalk sat down with GSA CIO David Shive to ask some substantial questions about FedRAMP and TTS ahead of MeriTalk’s GSA Forum on FedRAMP and TTS/18F on Sept. 13 at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. […]

The General Services Administration on Tuesday released the FedRAMP Readiness Assessment Report, a template that allows cloud service providers to quickly determine whether they are ready to pursue FedRAMP authorization. […]

Federal agencies can now use cloud computing systems to store their most sensitive, unclassified data, through the recent release of the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program High Baseline.
“This release allows agencies to use cloud environments for high-impact data, including data that involves the protection of life and financial ruin,” said the FedRAMP announcement. […]

In a review of its progress over the past nine months compared with the four years before that, the GSA released an infographic touting the increases in authorizations, re-uses, and use frequency of cloud service providers. […]

Less than three months after a wave of negative feedback from industry forced the General Services Administration to revamp the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, a new MeriTalk survey shows for the first time that many government IT officials doubt the value of the program in its current form. […]

Content management company Box unveiled its Box for Government initiative, which brings together different product suites designed for government and enables agencies to work remotely, collaboratively, and with an assurance of security. Box for Government has already received a FedRAMP Provisional Authority to Operate (P-ATO) from the Defense Information Systems Agency. […]

If cloud computing is the future of government information technology, then Cisco may be one of the most relevant companies in Washington, D.C. Cisco’s FedRAMP authorization—granted by the Department of Health and Human Services—represents a significant development for both the company and the government. […]

FedRAMP Director Matt Goodrich said some Federal agencies may have refused to share a FedRAMP ATO granted to a CSP, but that’s only a small part of the story behind one of the major shortcomings of the FedRAMP program. One theory: It’s not that agencies are refusing to share—it’s that cloud service providers are failing to capture new business. […]

Food and Drug Administration CIO Todd Simpson is working toward a new tech-savvy agency by creating programs specifically aimed at technological innovation. “I created a separate, stand-alone innovations office that speeds new technologies into the CTO shop once they’re approved,” he said. These technologies include various Apple and Android phones, applications, and tablets. […]

Third party cloud security auditing firms are worried that new documentation requirements put in place by FedRAMP could open them to significant liability risks. […]