Agencies progress in identifying, consolidating IT infrastructure

With a deadline looming for agencies to submit plans on how they could consolidate their computer networks and standardize the applications that support agency operations, officials hope the blueprints will lead to lower costs, improve agency collaboration and reduce the government's energy footprint.

Comment on this article in The Forum.The General Services Administration has asked agencies to submit by Sept. 30 five-year plans for how they will purchase information technology equipment and services. GSA plans to use the reports in the IT infrastructure line of business initiative to find common purchases and applications that can be consolidated, including mainframe computers, PCs, software and wireless communications.

"We've never had a chance to take a look [at the federal IT infrastructure] from this high level," said Eric Won, program manager for the IT line of business.

The Office of Management and Budget chartered the IT line of business in 2006, and it is now managed by GSA. The initiative requires the government's 23 largest agencies to find common systems and applications that can be consolidated to reduce costs and improve information management by standardizing operations.

Because IT equipment and software purchases are the largest component of federal IT spending, at more than $26 billion in fiscal 2009, it offers the greatest opportunities for savings if agencies can combine and standardize IT operations.

"I think [the IT line of business] is making some progress," said Ray Bjorklund, senior vice president and chief knowledge officer for FedSources Inc., a market research firm in Mclean, Va. "It makes really good business sense to take on consolidation of the infrastructure."

The IT line of business also is testing agencies to compare how much they spend on IT operations with how much the private sector spends. The studies should indicate which agencies are doing well with regard to securing IT and telecom at the lowest price, with hopes that the studies will create best practices on which agencies can later rely.

Bjorklund said the areas where the government likely would see the most benefits from IT consolidation were data centers, financial management systems and information security. But he cautioned against relying on one system without developing backup measures in case the system fails.

The studies also will allow agencies to know what IT equipment and applications they own. Most agencies do not know what IT assets they own. "When you're conscientiously investing in consolidated IT infrastructure, it's a great opportunity to conduct some sort of rigorous inventory and really institute asset management," Bjorklund said. "With those automated asset management tools, you can know where you are at any point in time. It's a big, big help for planning. The cost of doing manual inventory is almost prohibitive."

Another important part of the initiative is the increasing emphasis the government is placing on green IT. Won said the consolidation of IT infrastructure would help agencies comply with mandates to reduce energy use and a renewed governmentwide emphasis on environmental concerns.

"The biggest payoff is going green," Bjorklund said. "Because of the cost savings and the reduced energy footprint that comes along with modernization and consolidation of infrastructure, it's really going to help the government go green."