US Government Launches Online Technology Storefront

The U.S. government Tuesday launched an online storefront to enable Federal agencies to buy cloud computing technology services online.

Apps.gov, as the service is called, run by government procurement department the General Services Administration, allows employees at government agencies to buy software from companies such as Salesforce.com Inc. (CRM), via an online shop.

It is part of a range of strategies that Federal technology officials are pushing to use new technologies to crimp the government's $75 billion annual technology budget.

Two appointees by President Obama, Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra and Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra are focusing on pushing government agencies to take advantage of developments like cloud computing - metered, online computer applications - social media and other online and sometimes freely available technologies where possible.

In a speech to lawmakers Tuesday, Kundra said that cloud computing would enable the government to spend less on the infrastructure required to run technology for its agencies.

In situations where data is non-sensitive in nature, Kundra said, allowing agencies to browse and purchase applications via the Apps.gov storefront would avoid the typically cumbersome procurement cycles used by agencies in the past to acquire technology.

"We want to get out of running infrastructure and get into solving problems," he said. "Why must the government spend billions of dollars on information that may not be sensitive in nature?"

Kundra said the Department of Energy was the first government agency to enable online technology purchasing for its employees.

-By Jessica Hodgson, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-439-6455; [e-mail]