National Cybersecurity Strategies: a boost to Cloud modernization

One year after the presentation of the Biden administration's National Cybersecurity Strategy, federal agencies are stepping up efforts to upgrade their IT infrastructures to meet advanced standards for cloud modernization. These new federal obligations, which elevate previous guidelines to formal requirements, push agencies towards a natural evolution towards optimized cloud infrastructures, capable of guaranteeing superior performance and more efficient cost management. The main objective of the strategy is to improve government cybersecurity, but it also directly impacts the upgrading and configuration of cloud architectures, such as the introduction of advanced digital identity solutions and better regulation of IoT management, to ensure safe and efficient digital economy.

The IT transformation needed to meet standards

Federal agencies are faced with the need to transform their infrastructures to meet standards for security, visibility and efficient cost management as they move data and applications to and from the cloud. This step requires a delicate balance between legacy standards and practices with modern components to ensure effective communication between systems. Additionally, consistency in applying zero trust and managing costs remain significant challenges, exacerbated by less-than-strategic migrations accelerated by adapting to remote working during the pandemic.

Adopt the right compliance strategy

To address these challenges, it is critical that cloud modernization teams take thorough approaches to performance and cost management. The most effective methodologies follow a cloud-first approach to software development, data organization, and application refactoring, leveraging the use of containers, microservices, and other cloud-native DevOps techniques. This approach should not be limited to the cloud, but also extend to on-prem solutions and support from SaaS providers, MSPs or other third-party partners. It is also essential to adopt four key priorities in the planning and implementation phases, such as the adoption of open standards for interoperability and an agnostic approach to the direction of migrations.

The opportunity offered by the National Cybersecurity Strategy

The new cloud adoption needs defined by the National Cybersecurity Strategy represent an important opportunity for federal agencies to optimize their cloud configurations in line with mandates. While each agency must tailor its approach to specific environmental needs and mission objectives, an effective modernization strategy can ensure compliance through improved visibility and management of all IT assets, processes and systems.