Turning Failure into Success with Cloud Computing

Nobody likes failure, but true innovation does not happen right away. Instead, it’s the product of trial and error, of the willingness and ability to experiment and fall short, then draw insight that will drive future success from your missteps.

Teresa Carlson, Vice President, Worldwide Public Sector at Amazon Web Services (AWS) talked recently about the ways agencies can use cloud computing to improve their services, save money and make experimentation possible—turning failures into progress and ultimately driving innovation in the federal government.

Cloud computing—the on-demand acquisition of IT services and applications—has been used for years now to power enterprise and government alike. It is scalable and flexible, allowing agencies to dial up or scale back their computing power based on needs, aligning computing power directly with usage.

This also makes cloud computing cheaper than existing legacy systems because, with AWS, customers pay as they go. Agencies can get the capacity they need, when they need it, and for an affordable price.

Many agencies have begun using the cloud for their computing needs and to great success. For example, the Navy moved their forward-facing websites to the cloud and was able to do so quickly while still achieving a savings of 60 percent of their previous expenditure. Another AWS client, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), has been using AWS GovCloud (US)—AWS’s cloud designed specially to meet the needs of government—to drive space exploration from Mars Curiosity rover to the quest for extraterrestrial life.

“With the cloud, NASA’s scientists can spend more time on their work and less time maintaining servers,” Carlson said. “The scientists and researchers love that they get capacity on demand, giving them the ability to innovate at a rapid pace.”

The key, according to Carlson, is that cloud computing allows agencies to be agile and experimental. It gives them the computing capability to quickly and securely build applications and analyze data, while simultaneously reducing the associated cost of such operations. This is especially critical in today’s tight budgetary climate, where the ability to do more with less is vital to success.

By providing a cost model that is significantly cheaper than other offerings, cloud computing dramatically reduces the cost of failure. Agencies are no longer faced with severe monetary penalties if a project does not go exactly as planned, and they have an unprecedented ability to experiment with how technology can optimize their mission. Government can also try new things, fully aware that it’s okay if this particular project is not a complete success, because the work will still provide information to fuel future projects and successes. In other words: failure is no longer calamitous, but a healthy part of the learning curve.

“Innovation doesn’t happen by getting it right the first time,” Carlson said. “It happens by understanding both successes and failures through trial and error. You’ve got to give your employees the tools to think big and take risks. If you don’t have the ability to test an idea, you’ll always be behind the curve.”

About Amazon Web Services

Amazon Web Services (AWS) Worldwide Public Sector is helping government and education customers employ cloud services to reduce costs, drive efficiencies, and increase innovation across the globe. With AWS, you only pay for what you use, with no up-front physical infrastructure expenses or long-term commitments. Over 900 public sector organizations of all sizes use AWS to build applications, host websites, harness big data, store information, conduct research, improve online access for citizens, and more.

This content is made possible by Amazon Web Services; it is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Nextgov's editorial staff.