Cloud computing is a flexible, cost-effective, and proven delivery platform for providing business or consumer IT services over the Internet. Cloud resources can be rapidly deployed and easily scaled, with all processes, applications, and services provisioned "on demand", regardless of user location or device. As a result, cloud computing gives organizations the opportunity to increase their service delivery efficiencies, streamline IT management, and better align IT services with dynamic business requirements. In many ways, cloud computing offers the "best of both worlds", providing solid support for core business functions along with the capacity to develop new and innovative services.

Although $20 billion has been allocated in the President’s FY 2010 budget for federal IT infrastructure investments, the government is increasingly concerned about such massive expenditures. One viable option for reducing IT costs may involve adopting cloud computing as the federal IT infrastructure model.