The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) launched the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative (FDCCI) in February 2010 to reduce the number of federal data centers after the reported number of centers swelled from 432 in 1998 to more than 1,100 in 2009. Not only is the cost of operating a data center significant—from hardware and software costs to property and staff—but they also have a huge impact on energy consumption.
FDCCI aimed to decrease the number of data centers by a minimum of 800 by 2015, but the number of data centers has actually risen. While in part due to modifications that broadened the definition of data centers, progress towards federal data consolidation and modernization also has been slow.
While data center consolidation can allow federal agencies to not only improve efficiency, but also maximize cost savings, a number of challenges have prevented federal agencies from scaling down their data center footprint. One of the major obstacles holding back consolidation efforts is security concerns.
“Security is the number one consideration of federal agencies” as they consolidate and modernize their data centers, Homeland Security Today was told by Michael Smith, deputy chief information security officer at Creative Computing Solutions, Inc. (CCSi).
Read the complete report (no registration required) in the current February/March 2015 Homeland Security Today.
