Optimizing the Data Center

Legacy technology costs the federal government a lot of money. Statistically, around 80 percent of the government’s $80 billion IT budget goes toward past-generation systems that, as former U.S. Chief Information Officer Tony Scott used to say, “keep the lights on.”

In reality, these systems are often performing mission-critical activities, and many are housed within the government’s inventory of 10,000 data centers. Despite a mandate by the Obama administration in 2010 to close and consolidate data centers, the federal government only learned how many data centers it had in the past two years.

Data centers, it turns out, are complex pieces in the federal IT puzzle. They house together new and old applications and come in a range of formats from servers stashed in closets to facilities spanning tens of thousands of square feet. And the government has made headway, closing 4,400 tiered and non-tiered centers, while also working to make the most of the ones that remain.

In this ebook, Nextgov looks at the government’s progress in closing and optimizing its data centers while exploring a series of use cases among federal agencies and research centers. Our stories include challenges faced by federal officials, as well as lessons learned, returns on investment and benefits to mission realized through consolidation.

Click here to download the free ebook.