ITWorld: The Feds step up Data Center Consolidation

About two years ago, the federal government set in motion an ambitious and broad initiative to dramatically reduce IT operations. The goal: slow the sprawl of the government data center footprint.

Well, current federal CIO Steven VanRoekel says the plan is exceeding original plans and targets. In this blog on the White House’s Office ofManagement and Budget website, VanRoekel says by the end of 2012, the federal government will have closed 740 data centers. By the end of 2015, it will consolidate at least 1200 data centers, or at least 40% of identified data centers – a goal that VanRoekel writes “requires us to continue aggressively rooting out duplication and waste in our expanded baseline of 3,133 data centers.”

The data centers comprise all sizes, ranging from some as big as a football field to others as small as a closet. They represent, VanRoekel reports, billions in wasted capital.

The consolidation and closures are expected to save taxpayers billions of dollars by cutting spending on underutilized hardware, software and operations; improving cyber security; shrinking energy and real estate footprints; and taking advantage of innovative technologies such as cloud computing.

The government recently expanded its initial plan, and in the fall VanRoekel and team announced plans to include in the consolidation initiative data centers of any size, not just those that are 500 square feet and above. Moreover, the government says it is paying close attention to areas within the remaining data centers where greater efficiencies can be realized.

More of the ITWorld article from Beth Bacheldor

Alex Carroll

Managing Member at Lifeline Data Centers

Alex, co-owner, is responsible for all real estate, construction and mission critical facilities: hardened buildings, power systems, cooling systems, fire suppression, and environmentals. Alex also manages relationships with the telecommunications providers and has an extensive background in IT infrastructure support, database administration and software design and development. Alex architected Lifeline’s proprietary GRCA system and is hands-on every day in the data center.