Commercial Cloud Services (C2S) Contract: Understanding the Basics
The United States government has increasingly turned to cloud computing in recent years to enhance its IT infrastructure. In 2013, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) signed a contract with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to develop a cloud-based platform that would support the agency`s intelligence operations. This platform is called the Commercial Cloud Services (C2S) contract.
What is the C2S contract exactly? Essentially, it is a contract between the US government and AWS for the provision of cloud computing services. The contract was awarded to AWS in 2013, and it has been extended several times since then. It is worth noting that the C2S contract is not a single contract but a number of separate contracts that AWS has won through competitive bidding.
One of the primary goals of the C2S contract is to allow the US government to leverage commercial cloud offerings while still meeting the unique security requirements that government agencies have. The C2S platform is designed to meet these requirements, which include compliance with various regulations, including the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) and the Department of Defense (DOD) Cloud Computing Security Requirements Guide (SRG).
Another benefit of the C2S contract is that it allows government agencies to scale their cloud usage as needed. This is particularly important for agencies with fluctuating workloads or those that need to quickly scale up their IT infrastructure in response to an emergency or crisis situation.
The C2S platform is also designed to be cost-effective. It allows government agencies to pay only for the cloud services they use, rather than having to purchase and maintain their own hardware and software infrastructure. This can result in significant cost savings for agencies, particularly those with limited budgets.
So, what types of cloud services are available through the C2S contract? The platform offers a range of services, including compute, storage, and networking. It also includes a number of pre-built applications and tools that agencies can use to quickly deploy their IT infrastructure in the cloud.
Overall, the C2S contract is an important tool for the US government as it seeks to modernize its IT infrastructure. By leveraging commercial cloud offerings while meeting the unique security requirements of government agencies, the C2S platform is helping to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations.