DISA looks for models for securing commercial cloud
An RFI asks for vendor feedback on two integration models for commercial cloud at the Defense Department.
WHAT: The Defense Information Systems Agency wants to test the viability of two technical models for implementing commercial cloud within the Defense Department.
WHY: The Pentagon wants its cloud use to be secure, while also tapping expertise from commercial vendors. To do that, DISA is looking for ideas on cloud-integration models that will offer "the physical protections that a DOD installation provides, while still allowing the commercial vendors to offer their contemporary cloud ecosystems directly to the military community," the agency said Oct. 1 in announcing an RFI.
The two models DISA is interested in are a "Data Center Leasing Model" and an "On-Premise Container Model."
The Data Center Leasing Model would let the vendor lease space for its software and hardware from a DOD data center. After a security check and accreditation, the vendor could operate from within the data center.
The On-Premise Container Model involves integrating the cloud at a "shipping container boundary" and then bringing the container on to a DOD facility. The IT resources in the container would likely reside near the data center to tap services such as redundant power and network connections, DISA said.
The RFI comes in the wake up of acting DOD CIO Terry Halvorsen's decision to cede DISA's procurement authority for the commercial cloud to the military services.