Is Cloud Computing a Good Idea for Government?

I recently came across an article from the Washington Post titled, "Tech Firms Seek to Get Agencies on Board with Cloud Computing." This article discusses some of the pros and cons of using cloud computing for government agencies. Cloud computing has been a major topic of discussion for business and more and more consumers save their information "in the cloud" everyday. But does it make sense for government?

On the one hand, cloud computing could cut costs and increase efficiency. Rather than storing information on government-owned equipment, it would be housed and maintained on third party servers. This allows for greater scalability; as computing needs change, agencies can easily increase capacity through the third party vendor without purchasing additional equipment. This situation would also reduce the number of employees required to maintain internal systems.

But, there is another side to the story. Though some experts say that storing data on third party servers may be even more secure than using government-owned databases, many government officials and consumers remain skeptical about trusting third parties with secure information.