he White House released the Data Center Optimization Initiative, which requires agencies to consolidate inefficient infrastructure, update existing facilities, boost security, save money, and transition to cloud services or inter-agency shared services. […]

Transparency is key in demonstrating the value of money spent on information technology, according to the Federal Commission on IT Cost, Opportunity, Strategy, and Transparency. […]

In a guest commentary, Richard Beutel of Cyrrus Analytics says that Federal agencies are stuck between trying to modernize, but having to use old strategies to do it. […]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture received a C grade on its Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act scorecard, which was released in May. Flip Anderson, acting executive director of FITARA for USDA, was so frustrated with the FITARA grading system that he created his own scorecard to gauge how closely the USDA complies with the act’s mandates. […]

Most Federal agencies received slightly better grades for their progress under the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act, according to the annual scorecard released ahead of a hearing on Capitol Hill. […]

The key to data center consolidation success is communicating and committing to an aggressive plan, according to Department of Justice CIO Joseph Klimavicz. […]

MeriTalk’s feature, a Q&A with prominent IT leaders, focuses this time on Flip Anderson, the Executive Director of FITARA Operations at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. […]

The Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative has been suspended as of March 2016, and the Office of Management and Budget is pushing forward a memorandum called the Data Center Optimization Initiative in its place. […]

The Defense Department likes to hit its targets. So you can imagine the frustration that the department’s chief information officer, Terry Halvorsen, must have experienced when he realized that he wasn’t even going to come close to reaching the Federal mandate to close at least 40 percent of the department’s data centers by 2015. […]

To dig deeper into the many factors that have contributed to the current state of affairs in the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative, MeriTalk spoke with some of the leading agency authorities about the many data center challenges facing chief information officers, and the plans and policies that hold the most promise of helping the government achieve its data center consolidation goals. […]

MeriTalk spells out the pros and cons of the Office of Management and Budget’s Data Center Optimization Initiative. […]

Dave Powner, director of IT issues at the Government Accountability Office, profiled the upcoming agency scorecard on FITARA and discussed the Federal government’s continuing difficulties with data center consolidation and legacy IT modernization. […]

MeriTalk’s feature, a Q&A with prominent IT leaders, focuses this time on Jeff Hogarth, the senior sales director for Dell’s Federal Civilian Business Unit. […]

If you are wondering what it’s going to take to get your agency in line with the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act, known as FITARA, look no further. Joyce Hunter, the deputy chief information officer for policy and planning at the Department of Agriculture, has been there and has done that. […]

Just 11 percent of Federal IT managers say their data centers are fully equipped to meet their agency’s current mission demands, according to a report by MeriTalk. The report, titled “Flash Forward–The Future of the Federal Data Center” and underwritten by Pure Storage, asked 150 Federal IT/data center professionals to predict and examine the future […]

It has been 15 months since the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act was enacted and relatively few Federal agencies have taken meaningful steps to integrate the letter and spirit of the law into their day-to-day functions. Sure, there’s been a lot of talk. But when it comes to bridging the FITARA gap—the chasm between the Federal CIO and the rank and file—little has been achieved. […]

The White House is encouraging Federal software collaboration and improvement with the software draft policy it released on Thursday. The policy would require software developed by or for the Federal government to be made available for sharing and improvement across Federal agencies. […]

The Government Accountability Office has charged 24 Federal agencies with consolidating data centers, but it seems their progress is too slow, according to a new report. […]

In a Customer Perspective panel at the FixFedRAMP event, three Federal CIOs and CTOs expressed frustration with current FedRAMP operations. […]

To drive down Federal spending and waste, the Office of Management and Budget has released its official Data Center Policy, designed to streamline the process of reducing the number of Federal data centers. By 2018, 52 percent of Federal data centers will close. […]

The White House is threatening to veto HR 1675 if it passes the Senate, after the House of Representatives passed the Small Company Disclosure Simplification Act that would not require most U.S. companies to file machine-readable financial statements. […]

In a new report, the Government Accountability Office said some of the definitions provided to Federal agencies for reporting spending data under the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 are inadequate, and “could lead to inconsistent reporting.” […]

Video surveillance data is growing – fast. By 2020, video surveillance is expected to reach approximately 3.3 trillion captured video hours globally. Organizations’ appetites for video surveillance in an “always-on” world are straining IT infrastructures – from networks, to storage, to analysis capabilities. Attend “The Video Vortex” webinar to discuss: How agencies can optimize video […]

Data Center Transformation Progress – Quarterly Meeting The Data Center Exchange (DCX) quarterly meeting took place on June 25, 2014. The discussion focused on the role that Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) and supporting software/tools can play in that data center transformation progress. Thank you to speaker Neal Shelley, Division Chief, Army Data Center Consolidation […]

DISA’s Data Center Consolidation – Quarterly Meeting The Data Center Exchange (DCX) quarterly meeting took place on November 18, 2014. The discussion provided an inside look at how DISA’s data center consolidation plans to ensure data – classified and unclassified – is accessible and secure. Thank you to speaker Jack Wilmer, Deputy Chief Technology Officer […]

2014 Mingle and Jingle The Data Center Exchange (DCX) quarterly meeting took place on December 17, 2014 and brought together all the MeriTalk Exchange to talk across channels. We heard from Rich Beutel and Ben Rhodeside senior IT staffers with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on what 2015 has in store for Fed […]

A MeriTalk survey finds that Federal agencies are in need of an efficiency jump-start, and 78 percent of Feds believe DevOps will help agencies innovate faster responses and services. Legacy systems are slowing agencies down, and new apps just add to the inertia. […]

FITARA – Jumpstart Your IT Transformation The Data Center Exchange (DCX) hosted a quarterly meeting on Wednesday, June 17 at the Knight Conference Center at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. called, “FITARA – Jumpstart Your IT Transformation” with Ben Rhodeside, Senior Policy Advisor for Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and Ben Sweezy, Strategy Lead for Federal […]

Smart Tools – Innovative Approaches Accelerating IT Possibilities The Cloud Computing Exchange (CCX) hosted a quarterly meeting on Thursday, November 5 at 1777 F St. NW in Washington, D.C. called, “Smart Tools – Innovative Approaches Accelerating IT Possibilities” with Tony Cossa, Director of Cloud Strategy and Policy, Enterprise Data Center Operations, Office of the Chief […]