Federal agencies expect to save $2.5 billion over the next three years by consolidating duplicative information technology systems, buying in bulk and eliminating failing IT projects.
Those savings were identified using a new approach – called PortfolioStat – where agency officials review their spending for common IT resources such as email and desktop computers in search of duplicative investments and opportunities to consolidate projects, Acting Office of Management and Budget Director Jeffrey Zients said in a blog post Wednesday.
OMB officials met with agencies’ senior executives, including the chief information officer, financial officer, acquisition officer and operating officer this summer. OMB used data collected for these meetings to show agencies where their spending plans have gaps and weaknesses, how to address them, and how to develop long-term plans to consolidate IT spending and share services within agencies and across government over the next three years.
Based on the analysis with OMB, agencies created PortfolioStat plans, that were reviewed in follow-up sessions with the agency’s deputy secretary and the federal chief information officer, Zients said.
“Agencies identified 98 opportunities to consolidate or eliminate commodity IT areas, ranging from the consolidation of multiple email systems across an agency to the reduction of duplicative mobile or desktop contracts,” Zients said. OMB has not publicly released a list of those opportunities.
Projected savings include:
– $376 million over three years at the Department of Homeland Security by purchasing IT infrastructure in bulk.
– $59 million at the Social Security Administration by using a new program to buy computers in bulk.
– $90.3 million at the Treasury Department by consolidating key financial management systems.
