Getting the Most Out of Data Centers

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.”

An Office of Management and Budget mandate requires federal agencies revisit their data center strategies and look for ways to save money, fortify their cybersecurity, and, when appropriate, transition data to the cloud. But many agencies are behind: 17 of 22 weren’t planning to meet goals for data center optimization by OMB’s September 2018 goal, despite legislation passed in 2014 that requires them to report on those efforts, the Government Accountability Office concluded in an August report.

If agencies don’t meet those OMB targets, the government won’t achieve the $2.7 billion in cost savings the data center optimization plan was designed to bring about, GAO concluded.

The GAO report also recommended Congress should extend the provisions of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act that require agencies report their progress and that effort—FITARA Enhancement Act—has some traction in both houses.

“We need to let agencies know they are not going to run the clock out on this Congress,” Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., said about the bill. “We need more time to make sure that consolidation occurs and savings are effectuated.”

In this ebook, Nextgov explores a series of use cases from federal agencies and research centers and what they’ve learned from their consolidation efforts.

Download this free ebook to find out more.