Obama's cloud initiative

Cloud computing got a big plug this month when President Barack Obama endorsed the technology in his 2010 budget request. The budget document highlights the benefits of cloud computing and directs agencies to launch pilot projects using the new approach. Cloud computing allows users to access applications, data storage and processing power via the Internet for a fee, while a third-party service provider shoulders the costs of building and maintaining the infrastructure. The support in the budget request, plus Obama's choice of cloud-computing proponent Vivek Kundra as the federal chief information officer, has many experts saying the technology is poised to be adopted at levels never seen before, though several issues still need to be resolved.