Mike Bradshaw

Mike Bradshaw, director of Google’s federal services, is excited about the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) certification for the company’s “Google Apps for Government” cloud computing services, which happened earlier this week.

After meeting primary federal IT security measures, Google was certified for passing the security controls under FISMA and, now, a full suite of office applications will now be available to federal, state and local municipal agencies.

“We’re excited about this announcement and the benefits that cloud computing can bring to this market,” Bradshaw said. “The president’s budget has identified the adoption of cloud computing in the federal government as a way to more efficiently use the billions of dollars spent on IT annually.”

FISMA certification was not a simple process, however. Google submitted a certification and accreditation package to the General Services Administration (GSA) back in September 2009. After passing an extensive security review, which requires over 200 security controls that were fully documented for Google Apps, tested and validated by an independent auditor and thoroughly reviewed by the General Services Administration, Google Apps government cloud computing services received the GSA green light, which is the first of its kind in the federal adoption of the cloud.

“I think this is indicative also of our commitment to the federal marketplace,” Bradshaw said.

Now, there are over a dozen federal agencies evaluating Google Apps for Government. The FISMA certification has made Google Apps, like Gmail, the Docs productivity suite and the Talk instant-messaging application, more attractive to federal customers.

Tags: cloud computing, cloud computing adoption, federal IT, FISMA, Google, Google Apps, GSA, mike bradshaw, U.S. General Services Administration
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