{"id":52456,"date":"2024-06-25T07:34:52","date_gmt":"2024-06-25T11:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/?p=52456"},"modified":"2024-06-26T17:19:28","modified_gmt":"2024-06-26T21:19:28","slug":"streamline-deployment-with-aws-govcloud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/blog\/streamline-deployment-with-aws-govcloud\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Streamline Your Cloud Deployment with AWS GovCloud"},"content":{"rendered":"

AWS GovCloud streamlines deployment for government and business operations, ensuring security, compliance, and scalability. We explore best practices, success stories, and future trends in cloud deployment in this blog.<\/h2>\n
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Cloud deployment can be a complex task for government agencies and other public-sector organizations. Ensuring the highest security and compliance standards is crucial, but these organizations still need to innovate to best serve their citizens and communities.<\/p>\n

Regardless of this consideration, government cloud spending grew by $6.2B in 2023<\/a>, which makes it the second year in a row of major increases in spending.<\/p>\n

AWS GovCloud can help \u2013 it offers a secure cloud environment specifically designed to meet the demanding needs of the U.S. government.<\/strong> In this article, we\u2019ll explore the key features and benefits of AWS GovCloud, including how it empowers your government agency and other businesses to use the cloud\u2019s scalability and flexibility while implementing strict security protocols.<\/p>\n

Understanding AWS GovCloud: A Secure Environment for Government and Business Operations<\/h2>\n

The US Department of Justice Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) recently transitioned to the cloud using AWS GovCloud<\/a> to not only deploy the cloud but to also drive IT transformation.<\/p>\n

ATF found itself with a lot of technical debt with systems they were unable to update. In fact, the organization lost its data recovery center and ran on Windows 3.11. They would frequently send team members home to work because their home internet was faster with a VPN than it was in the office, and its newest data server was 10 years old. When their systems crashed, they lost data and couldn\u2019t report.<\/p>\n

They needed to modernize and fast.<\/p>\n

AWS GovCloud is made for organizations like the ATF that are either a government entity or may need to do business with a government entity<\/a>.<\/strong> For example, businesses will create all of their infrastructure in AWS GovCloud knowing that it provides all the services needed to receive an authorization to operate<\/a> (ATO).<\/p>\n

What is involved in an ATO? After you apply for the ATO, you have to go through a couple of rounds of auditors. The first set of auditors is usually one of the organization\u2019s choices, and they\u2019ll perform testing similar to the next round, so you have the chance to refine and make sure you have everything together in preparation.<\/p>\n

Once you feel you have everything completed and these auditors sign off, the third-party auditor of the organization you will be working with will perform an audit. Once you receive the ATO, you can work with other government agencies as well, as they maintain a list of software and vendors with ATOs. AWS has a page that shows all their services<\/a>, if these are approved, and at what level (medium or high trust).<\/p>\n

All of this to say that compliance and security in government cloud deployments is especially critical in the business world due to the sensitive nature of the data involved.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s why:<\/p>\n

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  1. Citizen Data Protection<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 Your agency handles a ton of sensitive citizen data, including social security numbers, health records, and financial information. Complying with federal regulations like FedRAMP and HIPAA helps ensure this information stays safe.<\/li>\n
  2. Public Trust and Transparency<\/strong> \u2013 Data privacy fosters trust with the public and demonstrates transparency in how the government handles data within the cloud.<\/li>\n
  3. Accountability and Oversight<\/strong> \u2013 Ensuring you have a strong compliance framework helps you establish clear guidelines and audit trails to those you are accountable to: the public.<\/li>\n
  4. National Security Concerns<\/strong> \u2013 Because you handle classified information or other data related to national security, you need robust security measures in place.<\/li>\n
  5. Critical Infrastructure Defense<\/strong> \u2013 Your functions rely on critical infrastructure, such as power grids or communication networks. Without a secure cloud<\/a> to manage these systems, bad actors can compromise operations.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Key Benefits of Deploying With AWS GovCloud<\/h2>\n

    As mentioned in the last section, AWS GovCloud\u2019s security and compliance measures are critical for ensuring the public sector can harness the cloud\u2019s potential while ensuring the highest level of data protection and system resilience. Here are four benefits:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    1. Enhanced Security Features Tailored for Sensitive Data<\/h3>\n

    AWS GovCloud is built to handle sensitive unclassified data files. The platform has server-side encryption in Amazon S3, so you can manage and store security keys. You can also limit who has access to sensitive data, when they can access it, where they can access it, and more. The GovCloud region follows security requirements from the Department of Defense<\/a> (DOD), Security Requirements Guide (SRG), Impact levels 4 and 5, FedRAMP, and Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS).<\/p>\n

    2. Compliance With U.S. Government Regulations and Standards<\/h3>\n

    AWS GovCloud can meet various compliance requirements, including, as mentioned a few times above, FedRAMP. It can also handle International Traffic and Arms Regulation (ITAR), HIPAA, CJIS, and DOD needs. This helps take some of the burden off of your team members, allowing government agencies to deploy workloads without needing to get certified themselves.<\/p>\n

    3. Scalability and Flexibility in Cloud Resources<\/h3>\n

    As with any cloud deployment, GovCloud provides the exact same scalability and flexibility found in non-public sector clouds. For example, its database services, which are secure and compliant, can scale up or down as needed for government agencies to modernize.<\/p>\n

    Starting Your Journey With AWS GovCloud<\/h2>\n

    Before you get started, you need to know who can use AWS GovCloud \u2013 and who can\u2019t. AWS GovCloud is available to government customers<\/a>, organizations in government-regulated industries, and other commercial organizations that pass a screening process. All customers will have to confirm they\u2019ll use a U.S. green card holder or citizen to manage and access account keys to the region, they are based on U.S. soil, and they can handle ITAR export-controlled data.<\/p>\n

    To set up your account, you have two options:<\/p>\n

    Option 1:<\/h3>\n
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    1. Create a standard AWS account by signing up here<\/a>.<\/li>\n
    2. Log in with the root credentials.<\/li>\n
    3. Go to the \u201cAccount\u201d page at the top right of your management console.<\/li>\n
    4. On the \u201cAccount\u201d page, go to the \u201cOther Settings\u201d section and choose \u201cAWS GovCloud.\u201d<\/li>\n
    5. Sign up for the AWS GovCloud account by accepting the legal agreement and providing the additional information so they can verify your eligibility.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Option 2:<\/h3>\n
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      1. Use AWS Organizations<\/a> to create a separate AWS GovCloud account in the AWS GovCloud partition.<\/li>\n
      2. Call the AWS Organizations CreateGovCloudAccount<\/a> API within the AWS Standard account that manages your organization. This will create an associated AWS GovCloud account and an AWS Standard Region Organization account. The API will also establish roles for accessing the new standard account from the standard organization and will establish new roles in the AWS GovCloud account.<\/li>\n
      3. The API call may take a few minutes to complete. To get the account numbers, please run the describe-create-account-status command<\/a>.<\/li>\n
      4. Once complete, you can log in.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Establishing your login is only the first step in your AWS GovCloud setup. As you continue on your journey, there are a few best practices to keep in mind.<\/p>\n

        Streamlining Deployment: Best Practices and Strategies<\/h2>\n

        Before you implement your cloud deployment<\/a>, there are a few things to keep in mind:<\/strong><\/p>\n

        1. Potential Technical Debt<\/h3>\n

        If your applications are older, they could present some challenges. It may be difficult to integrate AWS GovCloud with older protocols and security implementations.<\/p>\n

        2. Technical Support<\/h3>\n

        AWS GovCloud provides support to customers who have purchased their support package and no one else. Make sure your team purchases the best support plan for your needs.<\/p>\n

        3. Service Limits<\/h3>\n

        AWS GovCloud provides you with a subset of AWS tailored to your needs. Some services, however, may not function or be available within GovCloud at all. Make sure you can access all the services you need before deploying.<\/p>\n

        4. Data Residency and Restrictions<\/h3>\n

        To comply with specific data residency requirements, AWS GovCloud must store and process data within the U.S. Similarly, anyone accessing AWS GovCloud must physically work in the U.S. and must be a citizen or permanent resident of the country.<\/p>\n

        5. Compliance and Security Maintenance<\/h3>\n

        AWS GovCloud is a tool that helps you maintain security and compliance. However, it\u2019s a shared responsibility model. Prepare to implement regular security and compliance checks.<\/p>\n

        6. Cost and Resources<\/h3>\n

        As with any cloud platform, you must monitor your AWS GovCloud instance to ensure you don\u2019t go over your budget and keep track of your resources to maintain performance. For example, when considering cost, data transfers between AWS GovCloud and any other regions or non-GovCloud accounts may accrue additional costs.<\/p>\n

        Once you\u2019ve thought through all of this, you can create your GovCloud migration strategy, communication plan, and training.<\/strong> The ATF, for example, had to create processes that included a lot of code rewriting (or coding from scratch), database migration, implementing new disaster recovery processes<\/a>, and more.<\/p>\n

        After their deployment, they can now implement business process improvements<\/a> faster than ever before and shift to testing automation, which couldn\u2019t run on their previous on-premises system.<\/p>\n

        Use AWS Support and Resources for Successful Deployment<\/h2>\n

        AWS has several options for support and resources you can access, including customer service and several videos, blogs and guides.<\/p>\n

        To access customer support, you\u2019ll need to purchase a plan<\/a> using your AWS root account credentials. AWS support will then be available to you based on that plan. Customer service is available all day, every day, also depending on the support tier you\u2019ve purchased. You can also keep track of AWS GovCloud\u2019s status on the Service Health Dashboard<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

        Resources include:<\/p>\n