SAP offers secure cloud services for federal agencies
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SAP is developing secure cloud services for federal agencies that will focus on the company’s expertise in ERP-oriented business services.
Enterprise resource planning pioneer SAP is jumping into the government cloud services business.
The software firm said it will begin developing a secure cloud offering for federal government agencies that will address “all dimensions of the cloud model, including support, operations and industry.”
The planned federal secure node, to be delivered through the German firm’s NS2 United States-based subsidiary, will be a managed cloud focusing on SAP’s expertise in ERP-oriented business services.
"Cloud-based solutions are driving transformation across the private sector, and innovative government agencies that embrace them can fuel meaningful change in the way government business is done," said Jen Morgan, president of SAP North America.
SAP said the offering would be suited for “mission critical applications such as the SAP Human Capital Management application for federal agencies, the SAP Business Warehouse application and custom applications on SAP’s HANA cloud platform.
SAP said it will offer a mix cloud, hosted and on-premise technology and services based on various federal agency requirements and deployment strategies.
SAP emphasized the company’s secure node offering would adhere to federal regulatory and National Institute of Standards and Technology requirements, including data sovereignty and citizenship restrictions that apply to delivering cloud services to civilian agencies and the Department of Defense.
“It is critical that our federal customers have access to cloud models that are tied to national standards along with options for secured support," said Mark Testoni, president and CEO, of SAP NS2.
Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, said he believed SAP would clear the regulatory hurdles. "SAP should be able to get around any legal and regulatory sensitivities in its creation of an independent U.S.-based company that will manage SAP NS2 services and processes,” he told CIO Today.
“It's also interesting to note the announcement's intent focus on security as a paramount concern," King added.
"Some might consider that a simple attempt to reassure potential public-sector customers, but it also highlights how SAP understands the priorities of the customers it hopes to court. Overall, I expect SAP NS2 will do pretty well in its target markets."
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