The Cloud Will Boost Data Center Capacity in North Carolina

North Carolina plans to use cloud computing to extend its data center footprint. CIO Chris Estes told Government Technology at the NASCIO mid-year conference in Alexandria, Va., that the state will use the cloud to scale services to meet volume requirements during election night and other times of heavy use. In addition, the state’s Office of Information Technology Services has embraced the motto of “try before we buy.” An innovation center allows the state to test new technologies before implementing them across the enterprise. For example, before deploying Microsoft Office 365, the state sought to understand potential business issues by first testing the platform in the innovation center.