We’ve spent the past few blogs discussing the pros and cons of cloud computing. All the various aaS platforms that are available. Microsoft’s new Desktop as a Service that is now being rolled out shows a lot of upside for SMBs.

We stated that cloud technology is built to help companies run more efficiently, cut costs, streamline production and to better concentrate on the business at hand. And as much as we play devil’s advocate, we believe this to be true.

But there are still a lot of doubters out there. The biggest concern we’ve heard is the issue of security. One potential JitterWorks client said she wouldn’t even put her family photos in the cloud, let alone sensitive company data. We hear that a lot. The cloud is not a safe place to do business. We disagree.

The Pentagon just announced they awarded Microsoft with a $10 billion cloud computing contract. The huge government project drew bids from Microsoft, Amazon, Oracle and IBM. 

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the largest of the cloud services with Microsoft’s Azure platform second among those companies competing for business in the cloud. It’s an interesting story and we suggest you read more about it.

According to multiple sources, the Pentagon project, known as the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure – or JEDI – will store and process large amounts of data allowing the military to become more efficient in war planning and fighting capabilities.

This isn’t the first contract the Defense Department has awarded to a cloud computing service, just the largest and most notable. It’s the government’s position that using these services will help them maintain a technological advantage when it comes to warfare and national security.

It’s not every day that we get to reference a popular movie in this blog but we’re going to jump at the opportunity. In Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise as Maverick and Kelly McGillis as Charlie, Maverick tries to pursue the beautiful civilian instructor. Charlie is leery of his intentions and rebuffs his advances until Maverick tells her – and we’re paraphrasing here because the movie is over 30 years old – “if the government trusts me, so can you.”

We’re sure the Department of Defense has done their homework and vetted the companies in competition for the lucrative contract. We’re equally sure that Microsoft, Amazon, Oracle and IBM know what they’re doing when it comes to cloud computing.

So, if our military feels confident that putting their data in the cloud will make them stronger, more efficient and successful in protecting our country, we’re confident that your family photos will be safe there as well.

The real question here begs to be asked. Do you think the White House might have a need for the JitterWorks Network Performance Monitor?