National Cancer Institute CIO Speaks on Cloud Approach

Jeff Shilling, the National Cancer Institute’s chief information officer, had a recent interview with Federal News Network where he discussed his approach to migrating information technology systems to the cloud.

NCI aims to set up two cloud environments covering all new development activities. According to Shilling, the agency has already transferred several of its virtual machines into the first cloud and is employing its services. He noted that on-premise applications and workloads are still being maintained because he wants to avoid moving legacy apps to the cloud with little to no modification.

Shilling said his team provides a service model to NCI staff that works by collaborating with them to deliver the infrastructure they need. He cited the development of a central events website for grantees as an example of his cloud approach, explaining that it eased the resource burden on agency offices that previously had to build their own pages, Federal News Network reported Friday.

In 2021, Shilling touted the advantages brought by NCI’s cloud migration to the dissemination of cancer research data. He said that the cloud allows researchers to access datasets without traveling to specific centers.