Amazon Web Services approved to host US government clouds

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has cleared a major compliance hurdle, which could allow the company to strike new deals with US government agencies.

The company revealed on Tuesday that it has achieved compliance with the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). The standard will allow the company to host moderate-level cloud initiatives for around 300 agencies in the US federal government.

AWS worldwide public sector vice president Teresa Carlson said: “Today most government computing systems require built-to-order platforms and applications to meet government security and compliance requirements, which involve time-consuming and costly evaluations.

“With this FedRAMP compliance, agencies can now utilise a streamlined process from AWS when moving applications to the cloud to meet their unique business and mission requirements.”

With the certification, the AWS platform can now be cleared for higher-level security and secrecy projects, opening the door for new cloud initiatives. Groups impacted by the ruling include the US Navy, Treasury Department and NASA.

AWS said that in meeting the FedRAMP requirements it had to comply with standards for security, monitoring and safe storage policies. The certification and compliance are being co-managed by HHS (US Department of Health and Human Services).

With governments both at the local and federal level looking to develop sweeping cloud initiatives in order to save money and reduce capital expenditures, achieving compliance with government regulations has been an important step for hosting firms looking to land lucrative government contracts.

Last week, Box made a point of announcing that it had cleared a federal government hurdle by complying with the ISO 27001 standard for secure storage.