"If everyone builds their own private cloud, you won't get the cost savings," Peterson says. "The big thing is, we don't want to see a bunch of cloud stovepipes popping up. That's how the government operates now."

Faulty Road Map?

CIOs Skeptical of GSA's Cloud Aids

The General Services Administration launched the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) last November to "provide a standard approach to assessing and authorizing cloud computing services and products" and to establish security standards for federal cloud computing. But MeriTalk's "Federal Cloud Weather Report" cites the following challenges:

64% of 167 federal government IT leaders surveyed said they understand FedRAMP but aren't optimistic that it will help.