DOD steps up data center closures

As part of broader Defense Department plans to streamline IT operations and meet mandated efficiency requirements, 44 military data centers will be closed by the end of the fiscal year, according to DOD CIO Teri Takai.

“As we look to improve efficiency, one of our ongoing targets is the management and use of data centers. We have closed eight data centers since the IT Reform plan was published, and we intend to close another 44 by the end of FY2011,” Takai wrote in a blog post on cio.gov. “DOD remains committed to identifying candidates for data center closure and consolidation in support of the [defense secretary’s] efficiency efforts and the IT Reform plan goal of closing 800 federal data centers by 2015.”

Takai said the data center closures dovetail with other plans in former Federal CIO Vivek Kundra’s 25 Point Implementation Plan to Reform Federal IT Management that include DOD’s move to enterprise services and its cloud strategy under development, as well as efforts to improve IT acquisition and better provide for a skilled cyber and IT workforce.

She also noted progress on a joint DOD-industry IT Exchange Program, which offers an opportunity for the public and private sectors to collaborate on best practices and lessons learned in common IT problems experienced by both sides.

She also said DOD is leading a governmentwide program to update the Clinger-Cohen Competencies that serve as a federal baseline for IT management requirements.

"We are making progress on several initiatives that will increase our efficiency and effectiveness in developing systems to support our nation’s warfighters, without sacrificing security,” Takai wrote.