20: IT Commodity Spending

Work with Congress to consolidate commodity IT spending under Agency CIO

Other Information:

Agencies, departments, bureaus, and, at times, even programs currently design, build, and operate independent systems for “commodity” IT services (e.g., e-mail, data centers, content management systems, web infrastructure). Their functionality and the infrastructure that supports them are often duplicative and sub-scale. These independent systems currently draw resources away from IT programs that deliver value to the American taxpayer. With few exceptions, the minor differences between agency-specific systems and their associated operational processes do not drive value for the agencies. Consolidating these systems and their associated infrastructure (e.g., data centers) will be difficult and complex if the current funding models are maintained. Within the next six months, OMB will work with Congress to develop a workable funding model for “commodity” IT services. These funding models will be applicable to both inter-agency IT services and intra-agency IT services. On an annual basis, the Agency CIOs and the Federal CIO Council will identify “commodity” services to be included in this funding model as they are migrated towards shared services. A benefit of consolidated commodity IT spending is the ability to move more rapidly to adopt strategic sourcing solutions. . Once agencies with common business needs can effectively coordinate or consolidate the procurement of IT-related goods and services and demand is aggregated within agencies, it will be easier for the government to more effectively negotiate for volume discounts and improved service levels.

Stakeholder(s):

• Agency CIOs

Indicator(s):

Indicator:1

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