Cloud Computing: Agencies Need to Incorporate Key Practices to Ensure Effective Performance

Citation
Government Accountability Office, Cloud Computing: Agencies Need to Incorporate Key Practices to Ensure Effective Performance (GAO-16-325) (Apr. 7, 2016) (full-text).

Overview
The GAO was asked to examine federal agencies' use of SLAs. The GAO's objectives were to (1) identify key practices in cloud computing SLAs and (2) determine the extent to which federal agencies have incorporated such practices into their SLAs. The GAO analyzed research, studies, and guidance developed by federal and private entities to develop a list of key practices to be included in SLAs. The GAO validated its list with the entities, including OMB, and analyzed 21 cloud service contracts and related documentation of five agencies (with the largest fiscal year 2015 IT budgets) against the key practices to identify any variances, their causes, and impacts.

The GAO recommends that the OMB include all ten key practices in future guidance to agencies and that Defense, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs implement SLA guidance and incorporate applicable key practices into their SLAs.