Launched by  OMB in March 2012, PortfolioStat requires agencies to conduct an annual  agency-wide IT portfolio review to, among other things, reduce  commodity IT spending, demonstrate how its IT investments align with  the agency’s mission and business functions, and make decisions on  eliminating duplication. OMB’s March 2013 memorandum discusses  OMB’s efforts to further the PortfolioStat initiative by incorporating several  changes, such as consolidating previously collected IT-related plans,  reports, and data submissions. The memorandum also establishes new  agency reporting requirements and related time frames. Specifically,  agencies are no longer required to submit the data center consolidation  plans previously required under FDCCI. GAO Has Previously Reported on Significant Weaknesses in Agencies’ Inventories and Plans

In July 2012, we issued a report on the status of FDCCI and found that,  while agencies’ 2011 inventories and plans had improved as compared to  their 2010 submissions, significant weaknesses still remained. have documented the need for initiatives  The 24 agencies have collectively made progress towards OMB’s data  center consolidation goal to close 40 percent, or approximately 1,253 of  the 3,133 data centers, by the end of 2015. While the number of data centers that agencies are planning to  close from October 2013 through December 2015 (the planned  completion date of FDCCI) is not reported on http://data.gov, OMB’s July  2012 quarterly report to Congress on the status of federal IT reform  efforts contains other information on agencies’ data center closure plans. See  figure 3 for a graphical depiction of agencies’ progress against OMB’s  data center consolidation goal. However, OMB has not measured agencies’ progress against the cost  savings goal of $3 billion by the end of 2015. Finally, the staff member  stated that OMB recognizes the importance of tracking cost savings and  is working to identify a consistent and repeatable method for tracking cost  savings as part of the integration of FDCCI with PortfolioStat, but stated  that there was no time frame for when this would occur. Specifically,  in July 2012, we reported that most agencies had not reported their  expected cost savings in their 2011 consolidation plans. Until OMB tracks  cost savings data, the agency will be limited in its ability to determine  whether or not FDCCI is on course toward achieving planned  performance goals. In addition, OMB launched a publically available electronic  dashboard to track and report on agencies’ consolidation progress. Although OMB is the approval authority of agencies’ consolidation  plans, it has not approved agencies’ submissions on the basis of their  completeness. OMB has not reported on agencies’ progress against its key  performance goal of achieving $3 billion in cost savings by the end of  2015. These weaknesses in oversight are due, in part, to OMB not ensuring that  assigned responsibilities are being executed. Improved oversight could  better position OMB to assess progress against its cost savings goal and  minimize agencies’ risk of not realizing anticipated cost savings. Using these tools, an  agency is to report on, among other things, its approach to optimizing its  data centers; the state of its data center population, including the number  of core and non-core data centers; the agency’s progress on closures;  and the extent to which an agency’s data centers are optimized for total  cost of ownership. In addition,  although OMB has indicated which performance measures it plans to use  going forward, such as those related to data center energy and labor, it  has not documented the specific metrics for agencies to report against. For example, with the  elimination of the requirement to submit separate data center  consolidation plans under the new combined initiative, the memorandum  does not discuss whether either the Task Force or the GSA Program  Management Office will continue to be used in their same oversight roles  for review of agencies’ documentation. Specifically, we are  recommending that the Director of OMB direct the Federal CIO to  track and annually report on key data center consolidation  performance measures, such as the size of data centers being closed  and cost savings to date; extend the time frame for achieving cost savings related to data  center consolidation beyond the current 2015 horizon, to allow time to  meet the initiative’s planned cost savings goal; and establish a mechanism to ensure that the established responsibilities  of designated data center consolidation oversight organizations are  fully executed, including responsibility for the documentation and  oversight of the peer review process, the review of agencies’ updated  consolidation inventories and plans, and approval of updated  consolidation plans. Recognizing the importance of effective oversight of major IT initiatives,  OMB directed that three oversight organizations—the Task Force, the  GSA FDCCI Program Management Office, and OMB—be responsible for  federal data center consolidation oversight activities.
Why GAO Did This Study

In 2010, as focal point for information technology management across the government, OMBs Federal Chief Information Officer launched the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiativean effort to consolidate the growing number of federal data centers. In July 2011 and July 2012, GAO evaluated 24 agencies progress and reported that nearly all of the agencies had not completed a data center inventory or consolidation plan and recommended that they do so.
GAO was asked to testify on its report, being released today, that evaluated agencies' reported progress against OMBs planned consolidation and cost savings goals, and assessed the extent to which the oversight organizations put in place by OMB for the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative are adequately performing oversight of agencies' efforts to meet these goals. In this report, GAO assessed agencies progress against OMBs goals, analyzed the execution of oversight roles and responsibilities, and interviewed OMB, GSA, and Data Center Consolidation Task Force officials about their efforts to oversee agencies consolidation efforts.

What GAO Found

The 24 agencies participating in the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative made progress towards the Office of Management and Budgets (OMB) goal to close 40 percent, or 1,253 of the 3,133 total federal data centers, by the end of 2015, but OMB has not measured agencies progress against its other goal of $3 billion in cost savings by the end of 2015. Agencies closed 420 data centers by the end of December 2012, and have plans to close an additional 548 to reach 968 by December 2015285 closures short of OMBs goal. OMB has not determined agencies progress against its cost savings goal because, according to OMB staff, the agency has not determined a consistent and repeatable method for tracking cost savings. This lack of information makes it uncertain whether the $3 billion in savings is achievable by the end of 2015. Until OMB tracks and reports on performance measures such as cost savings, it will be limited in its ability to oversee agencies progress against key goals.
Pursuant to OMB direction, three organizationsthe Data Center Consolidation Task Force, the General Services Administration (GSA) Program Management Office, and OMBare responsible for federal data center consolidation oversight activities; while most activities are being performed, there are still several weaknesses in oversight. Specifically,
While the Data Center Consolidation Task Force has established several initiatives to assist agencies in their consolidation efforts, such as holding monthly meetings to facilitate communication among agencies, it has not adequately overseen its peer review process for improving the quality of agencies' consolidation plans.
The GSA Program Management Office has collected agencies quarterly data center closure updates and made the information publically available on an electronic dashboard for tracking consolidation progress, but it has not fully performed other oversight activities, such as conducting analyses of agencies inventories and plans.
OMB has implemented several initiatives to track agencies consolidation progress, such as establishing requirements for agencies to update their plans and inventories yearly and to report quarterly on their consolidation progress. However, the agency has not approved the plans on the basis of their completeness or reported on progress against its goal of $3 billion in cost savings.
The weaknesses in oversight of the data center consolidation initiative are due, in part, to OMB not ensuring that assigned responsibilities are being executed. Improved oversight could better position OMB to assess progress against its cost savings goal and minimize agencies risk of not realizing expected cost savings.
In March 2013, OMB issued a memorandum that integrated the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative with the PortfolioStat initiative, which requires agencies to conduct annual reviews of its information technology investments and make decisions on eliminating duplication, among other things. The memorandum also made significant changes to the federal data center consolidation effort, including the initiatives reporting requirements and goals. Specifically, agencies are no longer required to submit the previously required consolidation plans and the memorandum does not identify a cost savings goal.

What GAO Recommends

In its report, GAO recommended that OMBs Federal Chief Information Officer track and report on key performance measures, extend the time frame for achieving planned cost savings, and improve the execution of important oversight responsibilities. OMB agreed with two of GAOs recommendations and plans to evaluate the remaining recommendation related to extending the time frame.