The Government Software Store at Apps.Gov – Shop and Buy Software and Some Apps Are Free

The government is getting serious about software with their own store. I looked around a bit and there’s obviously still more to add, but what is interesting is the “Cloud” Section with Government Cloud IT Services, soon to come, addressing government agencies to store their information on the GSA Cloud Service.

I also poked around in some of the other areas and there’s a section for “Medical” which doesn’t have anything listed yet, but I have a feeling once it gets going, there’s going to be a ton of software to select from. Again, this is brand new and building so check back and look for more to be added. There’s a place to sign in and become a member. The site states the government pays for some of the software and offers it for free to members. There’s already several listings under “Business Intelligence”, where we get those magical algorithms to project and see how we are doing, as well as helping generate transactions with money.

There’s also a Web Content Forum with the Terms of Service FAQ section.

Promising new startup of 2009 - Executive branch of the US federal Government

There’s a section for “Social Applications” and gee what is there, all the Social Applications we use today, and of course those are free with links to the various applications to sign up. I also noticed several free web applications listed like “Cool Iris” that I use in my browser today, and if you have not seen it yet, check it out and I have a post on the Medical Quack about it as well. I see “TwidVid” but not plain old Twitter, but maybe that’s to be added later. GSA is serious about us being social:) BD

Business Applications…

Productivity Applications….

On Tuesday, Vivek Kundra, the federal chief information officer, unveiled Apps.Gov, a Web site where federal agencies will able to buy so-called cloud computing applications and services that have been approved by the government to replace more costly and cumbersome computing services at their own locations.

The apps storefront, which is run by the General Services Administration, includes an array of business applications, productivity software, services like storage and Web hosting and social applications. In a speech at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, Mr. Kundra said that the cloud offerings could be cheaper and more energy-efficient and allow the federal government to benefit from the same technological advances that most consumers enjoy.

“Why should the government pay and build infrastructure that may be available for free?” he said. Some applications are free, and even if the government has to pay for the software, it might avoid the cost of buying servers and building data centers.