Imagine a government as efficient as the highest-performing private sector companies, delivering critical services to millions across the nation. CIOs and citizens alike want and expect this type of government. Cloud computing is at the heart of government's potential to achieve significant operational efficiencies, and the speed at which cloud platforms are deployed is a big reason why.

Without IT infrastructure, cloud computing makes it possible to deploy new systems, applications, platforms and more at previously unheard of rates. Instead of months and years, it can take as little as a few weeks to launch effective cloud applications.

In the past decade, hundreds of thousands of private sector companies from Fortune 500 to "Mom and Pop" shops have set the new standard for deployment of IT through the cloud. Government agencies are now starting to take notice.

In 2012, we are seeing first-hand the speed at which cloud computing is changing the way every level of government operates. Consider the following:

• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services set up a nationwide program to improve health care and lower costs by helping more than 100,000 doctors at more than 70 regional centers upgrade to electronic health records. This massive undertaking went live in less than 12 weeks.

• After Barack Obama was elected president, the Presidential Transition Team launched the citizen engagement portal Change.gov. More than 130,000 users signed-up and submitted more than 52,000 ideas to the site, which received more than 39 million hits. The project went from idea to reality in only three weeks.

• New Jersey Transit, the nation's largest statewide public transportation system, deployed a salesforce.com solution over a five-month period to improve its customer service operations and manage the more than 250 million riders it carries every year. New Jersey Transit decreased the average response time to customer inquiries by more than 35 percent and increased productivity by 31 percent – all without increasing staff.

And it is not just the U.S. government that is moving to the cloud. The Japan Post Network, which has 24,000 post offices and is also considered Japan's largest bank (more than 100 million clients), deployed a cloud solution in just a few months to help support its day-to-day operations. The organization required a platform that supported more than six million insurance policies for Japan Post Insurance and 14 billion mail packages annually for Japan Post Service.

The cloud is redefining how government approaches IT. The cloud lets government build customized apps and create value-added services. No longer is there a need for the amount of staff or overhead that accompanied clunky, legacy IT systems.

And, in fact, given the considerable budget constraints impacting all government agencies, the maintenance and upgrades current IT systems require are simply unsustainable. As a result, agencies that rely on legacy IT will be forced into the unique position of having to justify retaining costly and inefficient infrastructure that the government cannot afford.

Cloud computing for government is an inspiring and unstoppable trend, and the outdated and outmoded ways of doing business only hold government back.

Speed to market, cost, and scalability are what distinguishes cloud computing from more traditional on-premise solutions. With the right approach, government will enhance its ability to manage and deliver critical information, helping to shape and redefine IT for decades to come.

Daniel Burton is senior vice president and general manager, global public sector, salesforce.com