http://www.nextgov.com/cloud-computing/2014/04/public-or-private-cloud-your-agency-decision-comes-down-risk-disa-cio-says/82114/ By Frank Konkel Nextgov.com April 8, 2014 For federal agencies, deciding whether information, data or applications belong in a public or private government cloud or a hybrid combination of the two is no easy feat. Myriad factors play into these decisions – projected cost savings, information sensitivity and availability, to name a few – but according to U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency Chief Information Officer David Bennett, the single most important element continues to be risk. DISA recently rolled out a government-operated cloud computing services portfolio called milCloud that was designed to attract Defense Department customers who seek the cloud’s promise of cost reductions combined with increased control, flexibility and mission security necessary for classified and controlled unclassified information. “You have to understand risk and the data you’re dealing with,” said Bennett, speaking at a Nextgov event Tuesday. “As you look at those things, you have to ask questions like, ‘What controls do I have in place?’ We want to leverage commercial opportunities and reap the benefits of doing that, but we also want to verify and make certain what’s out there and that we’re able to understand and monitor that.” […]