Data Center Optimization Initiative

GSA has recently announced that they will serve as a managing partner for The Office of Management and Budget’s Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI). This particular initiative requires federal agencies to “develop and report on data center strategies to consolidate infrastructure, improve existing facilities, achieve cost savings, and transition to more efficient infrastructure, such as cloud and shared services”.

After the approval of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act in 2014, DCOI became the pillar of promoting Green IT and reducing energy consumption in data centers. Data Center consolidation and optimization is the overarching goal.

As a leader and early adopter of IT products, GSA’s inclusion and management of DCOI makes perfect sense. To achieve cost savings on the procurement side of things, GSA’s initiative to “make it easier” for newer IT companies to become GSA contractors plays directly in, increasing cost savings and early adoption for other agencies.

Boiling it down to the simplest terms combining GSA’s “Making it Easier” initiative with DCOI creates costs savings for the government on both sides, procurement and then usage. As budgets are cut and the government becomes more and more frugal with spending, costs savings are being searched for everywhere and sacrifices in quality of product are not accepted by government workers. The partnership between GSA and DCOI should ensure that quality standards are kept high and organized buying power brings prices down.