IBM launches cloud services for federal, municipal governments

IBM on Monday plans to outline cloud computing services for the Federal government as well as various municipalities.

For the Feds, IBM is rolling out the Federal Community Cloud, which is a cloud environment for the federal government. The idea here is that IBM will provide a cloud platform where multiple agencies can access data and launch new services.

This cloud would allow the Feds to hit goals to access more technologies as a service, cut cots and implement services faster. IBM said its service is obtaining certification under FISMA (Federal Information Security Management Act) standards.

IBM said it is working with 15 agencies ranging from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to the Department of Defense to the Department of Homeland Security to Health & Human Services to provide cloud services.

Separately, Big Blue launched its Municipal Shared Services Cloud, which aggregates services to be delivered to multiple city governments. IBM partnered with the New York Conference of Mayors and Michigan Municipal League to grab participating local governments for a pilot.

This Municipal Shared Services Cloud will deliver operations, Web-based citizen services, offer data analytics. In general, IBM's offering is designed to link everything from the tax department to public safety organizations and integrate services.

These cloud offering will be delivered via IBM's services unit. Pricing wasn't disclosed.