This article is adapted from David C. Wyld, ”Moving to theCloud: An Introduction to Cloud Computing in Government”(Washington, DC: IBM Center for The Business ofGovernment, 2009).

Government increasingly faces challenges—and is expectedto achieve results—that reach across agency and programboundaries. These challenges include issues such as climatechange, food safety, disaster response, and cyber security.The traditional approach has been to use agencies and programsto address the nation’s challenges. While this approachhelps ensure accountability, more frequently it tends not toproduce results.