Lockheed offers agencies a cloud storefront
Connecting state and local government leaders
Agencies can receive cloud services from Lockheed's private and community clouds or cloud providers such as Amazon and Microsoft.
Lockheed Martin is offering government agencies a single storefront where they can receive cloud services from the company’s private and community clouds as well as from partner cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft.
The Solution as a Service (SolaS) hybrid cloud solution provides a modular suite of capabilities delivering command, control, brokerage and security across multiple clouds, according to Curt Aubley, vice president of NexGen Cyber Innovation & Technology with Lockheed Martin.
SolaS uses Lockheed Martin’s intelligence-driven defense approach to provide proactive and continuous cloud security situational awareness, and real-time compliance and configuration management, Aubley said. These capabilities leverage technologies from Lockheed Martin Cyber Security Alliance partners, which include CA, Cisco, Intel, McAfee, NetApp, Trustwave and VMware.
The growth of cloud assets and providers has created a need for brokers who can help organizations pick the cloud provider and services that match their requirements, he said.
SolaS addresses that need through the storefront. Agency users log into the storefront, where a wizard guides them through the selection process. It might ask what cloud services are required: a cloud complaint with International Traffic in Arms Regulations, a secure private or a public cloud, for example.
SolaS automates and orchestrates end-to-end services, providing enhanced security, integrated financials and transparent visibility across all cloud assets, Aubley said. The aim is to help agencies avoid cloud vendor lock-in.
Lockheed has partnered with public cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft. In fact, Lockheed Martin is helping the Environmental Protection Agency move 18,000 employees to Office 360, Microsoft’s cloud-based e-mail and collaboration system by early 2013.
The SolaS Hybrid Cloud is in use today by Lockheed Martin and some government agencies, which the company cannot identify at this time, Aubley said.