Dallas – July 5, 2011 – Horizon Data Center Solutions has received a formal “Authority to Operate” (ATO) as a cloud computing solutions provider to the federal government after completing a lengthy eight month Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) compliance process. The company and their federal technology integration partner, Eyak Technology, LLC (EyakTek) are the first contractor team to receive FISMA Certification and an ATO to provide Cloud Storage, Virtual Machines, and Cloud Web Hosting to federal government agencies via GSA’s Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA).
“With this ATO, Horizon’s purpose built cloud is officially open for government business, and Horizon and EyakTek are ready to take the lead in helping federal agencies save money by accessing the incredible potential of our highly secure, cloud-based services,” said Lance Black, CEO of Dallas-based Horizon.
According to Black, in order to receive the ATO, Horizon’s vStructure™ IaaS was put through an eight month Assessment and Authorization (A&A) process that scrutinized the system on more than 750 different control points to ensure performance against government security standards for both business continuity and disaster recovery. The FISMA A&A process is required for all information systems used or operated by U.S. federal agencies, or by contractors or other organizations on behalf of the government.
The White House has made reducing government IT costs a major priority, launching implementation of a 25 Point Plan for government IT reform in 2010 that included a mandate to slash the $600 billion federal IT budget, while increasing security. It includes a major push to migrate government services away from federal data centers and to the cloud.
Jodi Kohut, Director of Cloud Services for EyakTek, says agencies will find cloud solutions save money. They also eliminate redundant, antiquated, and underutilized infrastructure and provide a scalability that has not been available before.
“We chose Horizon as our technology partner on the IaaS BPA because they have built an environment that ensures that government agencies no longer have to worry about having enough capacity to meet their constituent’s needs. Agencies get access to state of the art technology and unlimited capacity, and the government is not paying for expensive data centers or equipment they do not need,” Kohut says.
“The government’s A&A process is a major test for any system, requiring thirty times the testing and validation that is required in a typical commercial audit, such as a SAS 70 Type II audit, which is considered the industry standard for world class data center services. This is a huge validation that should offer additional confidence to commercial enterprises that are another large part of our business,” Black says.
For more information, contact Horizon Data Center Solutions at 469.546.0046.
About Horizon Data Center Solutions
Horizon Data Center Solutions has changed the way data centers operate by offering both government and enterprise customers a better way to do business. The Horizon team is led by leaders in the virtualization and data center industry who are focused on delivering world class colocation, cloud computing solutions, and managed services to clients both large and small. For more information, contact OutreachPR at 903 880 8217 or Horizon at 469 546 0046, or visit www.horizondcs.com.
About Eyak Technology, LLC
Eyak Technology, LLC (“EyakTek”) provides award-winning solutions in communications, information technology, healthcare, and critical infrastructure services. As a recognized leader in the industry, EyakTek has consistently been ranked as one of the top 100 federal contractors. An Alaska-native owned small business; EyakTek also provides socio-economic benefits for their community of native shareholders. For more information, contact Melissa Zelinger at EyakTek at 703 481 0050 or visit www.eyaktek.com.