Home // ICONS 2023, The Eighteenth International Conference on Systems // View article

A Systems Approach to E-Government Cloud Sustainability

Authors:
Geoffrey Lichtenheim
Mo Mansouri
Roshanak Nilchiani

Keywords: E-Government; E-Governance; Public Cloud; System Dynamics; Systems Thinking.

Abstract:
The purpose of this study is to explore the use of public cloud computing by the US Federal Government leveraging dynamic systems modeling and system thinking methods. A historical analysis of public cloud hyperscale service provider growth and Federal Government cloud consumption is conducted as a baseline to highlight significant milestones over the past fifteen years. A stakeholder interest map is established to determine the endogenous and exogenous elements of our study, and a novel dynamic model is developed to capture the feedback loops, stocks, and flows, as well as multi-dimensional relationships between the variables presented. To prevent large and potentially harmful oscillations, cloud diversity principles such as interoperability and security are presented which promote both balance and sustainability in the system. The primary hypothesis is that self-reinforcing feedback loops which represent the consumption of public cloud services will be constrained by goal-seeking loops which represent Federal Information Technology (IT) budget limitations and macroeconomic fluctuations. To conclude, areas such as model enhancement through greater quantitative analysis as well as recommendations for further research on this topic are proposed.

Pages: 7 to 10

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2023

Publication date: April 24, 2023

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2308-4243

ISBN: 978-1-68558-037-7

Location: Venice, Italy

Dates: from April 24, 2023 to April 28, 2023