IBM's Infrastructure-as-a-Service platform for US government agencies received an approval from government officials that certifies that the cloud services it is used to provide pass the government's security standards.

Officials overseeing the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) have given IBM's SmartCloud for Government a Provisional Authorization to Operate. This means the platform now has all required security authorizations.

Anne Altman, general manager, IBM US Federal, said, “IBM’s efforts to make the cloud secure extend beyond the current requirements. Our research teams are exploring the next generation of cloud security and are committed to bringing further innovation to the government in this area.”

The cloud environment is part of IBM’s dedicated federal data centers in Colorado and North Carolina. The security assessments help agencies looking to meet the US government's cloud-first mandate.

IBM’s recently announced Federal Cloud Innovation Center will play a key role in helping agencies maximize the benefits of its cloud and data center environments. The center's aim is to bring IBM’s cloud computing research efforts closer to federal agencies to develop specialized technologies and methods.

A central focus of the center will be to work with the government to explore further the adoption of open standards and further develop the security protocols for cloud computing.

FedRAMP is a government-wide program that provides a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services.