Google Cloud Targets Federal Government

Google wants a piece of the federal government’s growing cloud computing market.

The company announced this week that it’s Google Cloud Platform and underlying infrastructure services have met key federal requirements that now allow federal agencies, including the Defense Department, to use Google Cloud.

The timing is key, as Google could join several companies, including Amazon Web Services and Microsoft, in bidding for a single Defense Department cloud computing contract worth up to $10 billion over the next decade.

The federal government’s spending on cloud and provisioned services topped $8.5 billion last year under President Trump. While cloud spending is expected to grow, only companies that meet standardized security requirements under the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, or FedRAMP, can compete.

Google Cloud achieved a provisional authorization to operate at the moderate impact level from FedRAMP on March 14. Google’s cloud platform--one of the leading cloud services in the private sector--will now take aim at Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, CSRA, IBM and a select few other companies that dominate the federal cloud market.