TREASURY INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR TAX ADMINISTRATION 

The Data Center Consolidation Initiative 

Has Made Significant Progress, but 

Program Management Should Be Improved 

to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved 

June 10, 2013 

Reference Number: 2013-20-013 

This report has cleared the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration disclosure review process 

and information determined to be restricted from public release has been redacted from this document. 

Phone Number | 202-622-6500 

E-mail Address | TIGTACommunications@tigta.treas.gov

Website | http://www.treasury.gov/tigta 
HIGHLIGHTS

THE DATA CENTER CONSOLIDATION addresses challenges and details decisions, 

INITIATIVE HAS MADE SIGNIFICANT milestones, and time frames related to how the 

PROGRESS, BUT PROGRAM IRS will meet its data center consolidation goals. 

MANAGEMENT SHOULD BE IMPROVED In addition, the IRS has not identified the optimal 

footprint for its data centers. TIGTA observed TO ENSURE THAT GOALS ARE significant empty space at the IRS’s Enterprise ACHIEVED Computing Center in Detroit, Michigan. TIGTA 

Highlights

was informed by IRS management that the 

IRS’s lease for this space will expire in 

April 2015 and that the systems at this location 

could be moved to other IRS data centers. 

Final Report issued on June 10, 2013 During our audit, the IRS announced plans to 

close the Enterprise Computing Center in Highlights of Reference Number: 2013-20-013 Detroit, estimating the IRS will save to the Internal Revenue Service Chief approximately $15 million annually. Technology Officer. Further, the IRS’s DCCI does not include all of 

IMPACT ON TAXPAYERS its data centers that meet the standard Federal 

definition of a data center within its baseline In February 2010, the Office of Management inventory. The IRS has an additional 115,343 and Budget established the Federal Data Center square feet of data center space in 61 buildings. Consolidation Initiative mandating that Federal 

agencies reduce costs and save energy by WHAT TIGTA RECOMMENDED 

reducing the number of Federal data centers. 

Decreasing redundant or unnecessary data TIGTA recommended that the Chief Technology 

centers, as well as reducing operational costs Officer provide, as appropriate, additional 

and energy consumption, is a significant part of resources to the DCCI PMO, require the PMO to 

Federal efforts to reduce costs and make more develop a project management plan that 

efficient use of taxpayer funds. addresses challenges to accomplishing project 

goals and solutions, and ensure that the 

WHY TIGTA DID THE AUDIT Enterprise Computing Center in Detroit is 

consolidated into the Martinsburg and Memphis In response to the Office of Management and Enterprise Computing Centers. Budget mandate, the IRS established a Data 

Center Consolidation Initiative (DCCI) Program TIGTA also recommended that the Chief 

Management Office (PMO) in 2010 and set a Technology Officer work with the Real Estate 

goal to reduce its data center space by and Facilities Management organization to 

50 percent by the end of Fiscal Year 2015. correct the inventory, update the inventory 

TIGTA initiated this audit to determine whether submitted to the Department of the Treasury, 

the IRS’s DCCI would effectively reduce data formalize plans to develop and apply a baseline 

center space and increase energy efficiency. footprint to the IRS’s small data centers, and 

coordinate with the Chief, Agency-Wide Shared WHAT TIGTA FOUND Services, to shut down computer room air 

While the IRS has exceeded its first two years’ conditioners no longer needed and adjust the 

goals for reducing data center space and set point temperature, as appropriate, on the 

improving the energy efficiency of its data remaining computer room air conditioners in 

centers, management of the DCCI needs to be accordance with industry best practices. 

improved to ensure that the IRS meets its future In their response to the report, IRS management DCCI goals. Two years of the IRS’s five-year agreed with seven of the report DCCI have elapsed without a clear plan for how recommendations and partially agreed with one the data center space reduction goals will be recommendation. The IRS has taken or plans to accomplished. The IRS’s DCCI PMO has not take appropriate corrective actions in response formalized a project management plan that to all of the report recommendations. 
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20220

TREASURY INSPECTOR GENERAL 

FOR TAX ADMINISTRATION 

June 10, 2013 

MEMORANDUM FOR CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER 

FROM: Michael E. McKenney 

Acting Deputy Inspector General for Audit 

SUBJECT: Final Audit Report – The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has 

Made Significant Progress, but Program Management Should Be 

Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved (Audit # 201220021) 

This report presents the results of our review of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Data 

Center Consolidation Project. The overall objective of this review was to determine whether the 

IRS’s Data Center Consolidation Initiative would effectively reduce data center space and 

increase energy efficiency. This review is included in our Fiscal Year 2013 Annual Audit Plan 

and addresses the major management challenge of Achieving Program Efficiencies and Cost 

Savings. 

Management’s complete response to the draft report is included as Appendix VI. 

Copies of this report are also being sent to the IRS managers affected by the report 

recommendations. If you have any questions, please contact me or Alan R. Duncan, Assistant 

Inspector General for Audit (Security and Information Technology Services). 
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

Table of Contents 

Background .......................................................................................................... Page 1 

Results of Review ............................................................................................... Page 3 

The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Program Management Office 

Has Made Significant Progress in Reducing Data Center Space and 

Improving Energy Efficiency, but Lacks a Clear Plan for 

Accomplishing Its Goals ............................................................................... Page 3 

Recommendations 1 through 3: ......................................... Page 7 

The Internal Revenue Service’s Data Center Consolidation Initiative 

Does Not Include All Data Centers .............................................................. Page 7 

Recommendations 4 through 7: ......................................... Page 10 

Recommendation 8: ........................................................ Page 11 

Appendices 

Appendix I – Detailed Objective, Scope, and Methodology ........................ Page 12 

Appendix II – Major Contributors to This Report ........................................ Page 14 

Appendix III – Report Distribution List ....................................................... Page 15 

Appendix IV – Outcome Measure ................................................................ Page 16 

Appendix V – Glossary of Terms ................................................................. Page 18 

Appendix VI – Management’s Response to the Draft Report ...................... Page 19 
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

Abbreviations 

CIO Chief Information Officer 

CTO Chief Technology Officer 

DCCI Data Center Consolidation Initiative 

ECC Enterprise Computing Center 

FDCCI Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative 

FY Fiscal Year 

IRS Internal Revenue Service 

IT Information Technology 

OMB Office of Management and Budget 

PMO Program Management Office 

TIGTA Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration 
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

Background 

In February 2010, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) established the Federal Data 

Center Consolidation Initiative (FDCCI) as a Governmentwide initiative designed to reduce the 

energy and real estate footprint of Federal data centers while increasing efficiency, strengthening 

the overall Government security posture, and promoting Green Information Technology1 by 

reducing the total number of Federal data centers. The FDCCI guidance required agencies to 

inventory their data center assets, develop consolidation plans, and integrate those plans into 

agency Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 budget submissions. The FDCCI would reduce the number of 

data centers across the Government and assist agencies in applying best practices from the public 

and private sector, with goals to: 

 Promote the use of Green Information Technology by reducing the overall energy and 

real estate footprint of Government data centers. 

 Reduce the cost of data center hardware, software, and operations. 

 Increase the overall information technology security posture of the Government. 

 Shift information technology investments to more efficient computing platforms and 

technologies. 

The OMB provided updated guidance in July 2011. This guidance required agencies and all 

subordinate organizations to complete all missing elements of their respective consolidation 

plans and submit them to the General Services Administration. The plans were required to 

include a full master plan schedule which identifies, by quarter, the data centers to be closed 

through FY 2015. The plans were also to reflect challenges experienced to date and integrate 

lessons learned. 

In response to the OMB directive to consolidate Federal data centers, the Department of the 

Treasury and its bureaus, including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), developed data center 

consolidation plans. In October 2010, the IRS created the Data Center Consolidation Initiative 

(DCCI) Program Management Office (PMO). The IRS’s DCCI goal is to reduce its data center 

space by 50 percent, 10 percent per year, from FY 2011 through FY 2015. The IRS also has a 

goal to reduce the number of data centers from 15 primary data centers to eight by the end of 

FY 2015. The IRS’s DCCI plan states that the approach is to centralize, virtualize, and 

decommission server resources to meet the following goals: consolidate the governance of all 

servers, reduce the IRS’s data center footprint, enhance the IRS’s disaster recovery capabilities, 

 

1

 See Appendix V for a glossary of terms. 

Page 1
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

and streamline the IRS’s processes to reach a more mature level of the Information Technology 

Infrastructure Library®. 

There are currently three bills in Congress with potential legislation that may affect the FDCCI. 

Two of the three bills would specifically require agencies to submit complete data center 

consolidation plans to the OMB.2

This review was performed at the IRS Enterprise Computing Centers (ECC) in 

Detroit, Michigan; Memphis, Tennessee; and Martinsburg, West Virginia, and the IRS data 

centers in Atlanta, Georgia; St. Louis, Missouri; New York, New York; Oklahoma City, 

Oklahoma; and Dallas, Texas, during the period June through November 2012. We conducted 

this performance audit in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 

Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate 

evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit 

objective. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings 

and conclusions based on our audit objective. Detailed information on our audit objective, 

scope, and methodology is presented in Appendix I. Major contributors to the report are listed in 

Appendix II. 

 

2

 Data Center Optimization Act, H.R. 6278, 112th Cong. (2011–2012); Smart Energy Act, H.R. 4017, 112th Cong. 

(2011–2012); and Federal Cost Reduction Act of 2011, H.R. 1713, 112th Cong. (2011–2012). 

Page 2
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

Results of Review 

The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Program Management Office 

Has Made Significant Progress in Reducing Data Center Space and 

Improving Energy Efficiency, but Lacks a Clear Plan for 

Accomplishing Its Goals 

The IRS’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) set a DCCI goal for the IRS to reduce its baseline 

data center space (reported at approximately 392,000 square feet) by 50 percent (or 

approximately 196,000 square feet) by the end of FY 2015. The PMO plans to meet the goal by 

reducing the footprint by 10 percent, or approximately 39,000 square feet, annually during 

FYs 2011 through 2015. The OMB did not set data center space savings goals or requirements 

for Federal agencies. Similarly, the Department of the Treasury did not set specific DCCI goals 

for its bureaus. 

Project management best practices have established that a project management plan is a key 

project planning document. The project management plan documents planning assumptions and 

decisions for the project and provides a framework for managing project activities and for 

completing the project successfully. The objective of a project management plan is to define the 

scope of work to be accomplished and the approach to be used by the project team to deliver the 

solution. In September 2010, the IRS submitted its DCCI plan to the Department of the 

Treasury. The plan stated that a project management discipline will be applied to the effort, 

including development of a comprehensive master program schedule, detailed implementation 

schedules, and spending plans. 

While the IRS has exceeded its goals in the first two years for reducing data center space and 

improving the energy efficiency of its data centers, management of the project needs to be 

improved to ensure that the IRS meets its DCCI goals by the end of FY 2015. Two years of the 

IRS’s five-year DCCI have elapsed without a clear plan for how the data center space reduction 

goals will be accomplished. In addition, challenges remain that, if not addressed in a formal 

plan, could result in the IRS not meeting its future DCCI goals. 

Significant progress has been made in the first two years of the DCCI 

The IRS’s DCCI PMO, in partnership with the IRS’s Real Estate and Facilities Management 

organization, has exceeded its first two years’ goals in reducing the IRS’s data center footprint 

and improving data center energy efficiency. As a result of consolidation efforts, by the end of 

FY 2012 (the second year of the five-year project) the IRS had closed two data centers and 

successfully reduced 76,560 square feet of the baseline data center square footage at five other 

Page 3
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

data centers. In doing so, the IRS has exceeded its plan of reducing 10 percent per year of the 

baseline square footage for the first two years of the five-year project period. The IRS has 

worked with the Department of the Treasury and made progress in relocating Department of the 

Treasury systems into the IRS’s data center space. 

The IRS has also taken steps to improve the energy efficiency of its data centers. These steps, 

taken in response to a prior Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) audit 

report,3 include implementing “hot” and “cold” aisles for servers, installing motion sensors to 

control overhead lighting, and shutting down redundant computer room air conditioners. 

The IRS is in the process of installing power metering in two data centers located in 

Kansas City, Missouri, and Memphis, Tennessee. This will enable the IRS to determine the 

exact amount of electricity used in these data centers. Currently, the IRS is only able to estimate 

the power usage of its data centers. Following implementation of metering at these locations, the 

IRS will assess the costs, benefits, and efforts required to install metering and determine whether 

metering will be recommended for other IRS data centers. 

A project management plan has not been developed 

The DCCI PMO prepared an operating charter that established the PMO and set forth its 

objectives, governance responsibilities, membership composition, and high-level operating 

framework. While the DCCI PMO was formed in October 2010, the operating charter was not 

developed until July 2012, nearly two years after the start of the DCCI PMO 

A project management plan is needed to address challenges to accomplishing DCCI goals. The 

IRS’s DCCI PMO has not formalized a project management plan that addresses challenges and 

details decisions, milestones, and time frames related to how the IRS will meet its goal of 

reducing data center space by approximately 196,000 square feet by the end of FY 2015. The 

IRS uses quarterly CTO briefing document presentations for managing the DCCI. Specific plans 

are developed for each local site as the IRS begins to address specific campuses, computing 

centers, or other site locations. 

In addition, while the IRS can perform DCCI planning and analysis work during the filing 

season, it cannot make any major information technology production environment changes or 

relocate hardware.4

 This further shortens the time frame and provides additional challenges 

which the IRS has to address in the next three fiscal years to accomplish its DCCI goals. 

 

3

 TIGTA, Ref. No. 2010-20-044, Implementing Best Practices and Additional Controls Can Improve Data Center 

Energy Efficiency and the Environmental and Energy Program (May 2010). 4

 Every year the Production Environment Control Process (formerly known as the Filing Season Moratorium) is put 

into place at the IRS to stabilize its production environments during peak processing times. During this time, no 

changes to the production environment are allowed to be implemented without executive approval. 

Page 4
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

The IRS lacks a strategy for the ECCs 

In a prior report, we recommended that current and future IRS data center space needs be 

identified and plans developed to consolidate or reduce excess data center space. IRS 

management agreed with this recommendation and stated that the Enterprise Operations 

organization would take the lead in the process of assessing the current state of data center space 

and developing a plan of action for space consolidation, where appropriate. 

Two years after the start of the DCCI, the IRS has not identified the optimal footprint or 

configuration for its ECCs. In August 2012, nearly two years after the start of the DCCI, the IRS 

prepared a statement of work to engage a contractor to study the three ECCs and make 

recommendations for how the IRS should create world-class data center facilities to meet its 

current and future information technology needs. 

We observed significant empty data center space at the ECC-Detroit. We were informed by IRS 

management that the IRS’s lease for this space will expire in April 2015 and that the systems that 

remain at this location could be moved to other IRS data centers. Based on this, it was our 

opinion that the IRS should close the data center at the ECC-Detroit. In July 2012, during our 

audit, the CTO announced the closure of the ECC-Detroit. The basis for this decision has not 

been documented as part of a project management plan. In September 2011, a draft business 

case was developed for the ECC-Detroit that assumed the data center would remain open. The 

business case approach was then changed and replaced with a document, “Strategic Overview of 

the ECCs and Their Role in Supporting the IRS Data Center Consolidation Initiative,” dated 

November 2011. The strategic overview document also includes future plans for the 

ECC-Detroit. The document states three computing centers are necessary to meet the IRS’s 

information technology needs. In 2012, the DCCI PMO began to prepare a statement of work 

for a contractor to study the ECCs and make recommendations on how the IRS can implement a 

world-class data center organization. In August 2012, the draft statement of work was revised to 

reflect the IRS’s plans to close the ECC-Detroit. The CTO estimates the IRS will save 

approximately $15 million annually by closing the ECC-Detroit. We agree with this decision as 

it is consistent with a prior TIGTA recommendation, and we have also raised this issue during 

this audit. The IRS expects to receive the results of the contractor’s world-class data center 

study in August 2013. 

Closing the ECC-Detroit presents another issue not addressed in a project management plan. 

The IRS’s telecommunications gateway infrastructure, BlackBerry enterprise servers, and e-mail 

archiving are configured to be located in three sites. The systems are currently located at the 

three ECC locations. With the closure of the ECC-Detroit, the IRS needs to identify and prepare 

a third location to support these systems. 

A decision has not been made on how the Annex building at the ECC-Martinsburg, a large space 

of approximately 36,000 square feet, will contribute to the 195,000 square foot reduction in data 

center space. This building contains the command center for the ECC-Martinsburg, the 

Page 5
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

Department of the Treasury’s continuity of operations equipment, and the IRS’s Research, 

Analysis, and Statistics organization equipment. The DCCI managers informed us that there 

may be adequate unused space within either of the two ECC-Martinsburg computer rooms to 

accommodate these items and there may be a need for additional office space at the 

ECC-Martinsburg. To complicate this decision, the Annex building is a privately owned 

building leased by the IRS, whereas the ECC-Martinsburg facility is a Government-owned 

building. 

The DCCI PMO’s decision to reduce space at the ECC-Martinsburg and the ECC-Memphis 

facilities was also not documented in a project management plan detailing how the space 

reduction will be accomplished. The IRS briefing documents currently show that data center 

space at the two computing centers will be reduced by 50,000 square feet. In addition, the 

decision has been made without knowing the results of the data center study, which has not yet 

been completed. One of the key focuses of the study is to project the future state of the IRS’s 

data centers; it would be beneficial to await the results of the study prior to making a decision to 

reduce space at the remaining computing centers. The DCCI PMO has indicated that the results 

of the data center study will improve decisions at the Memphis and Martinsburg ECCs regarding 

potential space reductions, space to be made available for other Department of the Treasury 

bureaus, or conversion to office space. 

The DCCI PMO program manager plans to turn over responsibility for implementing the 

World Class Data Center Study recommendations to the ECC executives. The DCCI PMO 

responsibilities related to the data center study should be included in a project management plan 

and should require a continued role to ensure that the recommendations are implemented. 

Without such a role, the ECC improvements may not be realized. 

At the beginning of the project, the IRS’s Information Technology (IT) organization 

management did not provide sufficient resources to the DCCI PMO for project planning and to 

ensure that the team could efficiently identify the best way to accomplish the DCCI goals. The 

program manager estimated that he is only able to devote 25 percent of his time to the DCCI. In 

March 2012, 18 months after the start of the DCCI, the DCCI PMO did not have a full-time 

senior project manager. The DCCI PMO informed the CTO that due to all the interconnected 

activities affecting consolidation, virtualization, post-of-duty consolidation, and coordination 

with the IT organization and local Real Estate and Facility Management organization staffs as 

well as the business units, an additional full-time employee with project management expertise 

was needed. During our fieldwork, the DCCI PMO received a full-time senior project manager 

and an additional staff member to assist the senior project manager. 

Significant challenges remain, including a strategy for the ECCs that have not been sufficiently 

addressed in a project management plan. If not addressed, the IRS may not fully achieve its 

DCCI goals by the end of FY 2015 as planned to reduce the real estate footprint and energy 

consumption of its data centers. 

Page 6
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

Recommendations 

To ensure that the IRS accomplishes its DCCI goals in the final three years, the CTO should: 

Recommendation 1: Provide, as appropriate, additional resources to support the DCCI PMO 

to ensure that the future project goals are accomplished and ensure that the DCCI PMO can 

maintain a role in guiding the implementation of the World Class Data Center Study 

recommendations. 

Management’s Response: The IRS agreed with this recommendation. In 

November 2012, the Associate Chief Information Officer (CIO), Enterprise Operations, 

added appropriate resources to the DCCI. The IRS took this action to ensure that project 

goals would be accomplished and to ensure that the DCCI PMO maintained a role in 

guiding the implementation of the World Class Data Center Study recommendations in 

the computing centers. 

Recommendation 2: Require the DCCI PMO to develop a project management plan 

following project management best practices. The plan should include the development of a 

comprehensive master program schedule, detailed implementation schedules, and spending plans 

and should address challenges to accomplishing project goals and solutions. 

Management’s Response: The IRS agreed with this recommendation. As a result of 

discussions during this audit, the IRS DCCI PMO consolidated the existing strategy and 

planning documents and began developing a master project plan that will address 

challenges, detail decisions, milestones, and time frames related to how the IRS will meet 

its remaining data center consolidation goals. 

Recommendation 3: Ensure that the ECC-Detroit is consolidated into the Martinsburg and 

Memphis ECCs. 

Management’s Response: The IRS partially agreed with this recommendation. The 

IRS responded that citing specific locations in the recommendation limits the IRS’s 

ability to make the best decision as to where to locate the ECC-Detroit computing assets. 

IRS management stated they will ensure that the ECC-Detroit computing assets are 

consolidated into an appropriate facility. 

The Internal Revenue Service’s Data Center Consolidation Initiative 

Does Not Include All Data Centers 

At the start of the FDCCI in February 2010, the agencies’ data center inventories included a 

diverse collection of facilities. As a result, in October 2010, the Federal CIO announced a 

common baseline definition for a Federal Government data center, developed by the FDCCI 

Task Force. The Task Force defined a data center as any room greater than 500 square feet in 

Page 7
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

area, devoted to data processing, and meeting a tier (I, II, III, or IV) classification defined by the 

Uptime Institute.5 

After more than a year of work under the FDCCI, the Task Force updated its standard data center 

definition. In March 2012, the Federal CIO issued a memorandum formalizing an updated 

definition of a data center. The memorandum states, “...a data center is now defined as a closet, 

room, floor or building for the storage, management, and dissemination of data and information” 

and “Under this revised definition, neither square footage nor the Uptime Institute tier 

classifications are required to define a facility as a data center.” The memorandum also states, 

“The Task Force has made it clear that facilities below 500 square feet in area that do not meet 

an Uptime Institute classification also consume significant amounts of resources.” The Federal 

CIO explained that expanding the scope of the FDCCI effort to include even the smallest spaces 

will better assist agencies in locating inefficient information technology assets and consolidation 

opportunities. Consolidation encompasses not just large facilities but also small server clusters 

and wiring closets. 

The IRS’s detailed DCCI plan, submitted to the Department of the Treasury in September 2010 

and updated in June 2011, states that the IRS’s five-year plan for data center consolidation will 

focus on locations hosting more than six computing assets, or roughly 124 IRS locations. The 

plan also states that the IRS is committed to policies and practices that reduce the environmental 

impact of IRS operations. The IRS has committed to such best practices as implementing 

computer room air-conditioner temperature and humidity set points that are consistent with 

industry best practices, and shutting down unnecessary computer room air conditioners, as 

appropriate. 

The IRS’s DCCI does not include all data centers that meet the standard Federal definition of a 

data center within its baseline inventory. The IRS’s five-year DCCI is focused on achieving data 

center space reduction goals at 17 locations, rather than 124 locations, as stated in the IRS’s 

detailed DCCI plan. In its DCCI plan, submitted to and approved by the Department of the 

Treasury in September 2010, the IRS identified 15 data centers as primary data center locations 

in the data center baseline inventory (three ECCs, one Annex building at the ECC-Martinsburg, 

nine campuses, and two Washington, D.C., area data centers). In June 2012, the IRS submitted 

to the Department of the Treasury an updated baseline data center inventory of 17 data centers 

(including the 15 data centers reported in September 2010 plus one Criminal Investigation data 

center and one additional Washington, D.C., area data center). Given limited resources and time 

to accomplish data center consolidation goals, the IRS’s CTO decided to limit the IRS’s focus to 

the 17 selected data centers. 

The IRS’s annual inventory updates submitted to the Department of the Treasury in FYs 2011 

and 2012 did not include the data centers meeting the standard larger than 500-square-feet 

 

5

 The Uptime Institute is an unbiased, third-party data center research, education, and consulting organization 

focused on improving data center performance and efficiency through collaboration and innovation. 

Page 8
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

definition of 2011 or the expanded 2012 definition that eliminated the square footage 

requirement. In the February 2010 memorandum launching the start of the FDCCI, the OMB 

required agencies to update their asset inventories annually by the end of the third quarter of each 

fiscal year. The March 2012 memorandum reminded agencies of this requirement. 

In addition to the 17 data centers included in the DCCI, the IRS has 115,343 square feet of data 

center space in 61 buildings in 31 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. These additional 

data centers meet the OMB’s initial definition of any room greater than 500 square feet in area. 

The IRS also has an additional 25,244 square feet of space in 122 rooms that meet the OMB’s 

expanded definition that eliminates area as a requirement. 

We visited eight data centers greater than 500 square feet and not included in the IRS’s DCCI, 

which were located in five cities. The data centers ranged from 1,437 square feet to 8,399 square 

feet and accounted for 33,825 (29 percent) of the additional 115,343 square feet not included in 

the DCCI. Our review of the sites found that opportunities exist for space reduction and energy 

savings at all sites visited. Specifically, we found: 

 Computer room air conditioners were powered on and cooling rooms with little or no 

computer equipment. 

 Set point temperatures on computer room air conditioners were not consistently set to 

save energy and lower energy costs, as the IRS recently did at its ECCs and campuses. 

There were a total of 28 computer room air conditioners at the eight data centers we 

visited. Temperatures for 21 of the 28 units were set lower than 72 degrees, ranging from 

68 to 71 degrees. Only seven units at one location were set at 72 degrees. 

 The IRS data center inventory is not accurate. For example, a room at one location was 

not in the inventory, while the inventory at another location included a room that no 

longer exists. One large computer room was listed as three separate smaller rooms in the 

inventory. 

During our audit, the DCCI PMO informed us that it had been asked by senior IT organization 

management to study such smaller data centers to identify consolidation and energy savings 

opportunities and that they plan to develop standard footprints for small data centers. 

The IRS’s DCCI PMO also informed us that data center consolidation for the smaller data 

centers not included in the DCCI are being addressed as building leases expire and also based on 

the Real Estate and Facilities Management organization move or renovation projects currently 

taking place. Building leases for 38 (62 percent) of the 61 buildings that house 79,380 square 

feet of data center space will expire before the FY 2015 DCCI end date. Building leases for 23 

(38 percent) of the 61 buildings housing 35,963 square feet will expire after the DCCI end date. 

When the IRS’s data center inventory does not include all of its data centers, the Department of 

the Treasury cannot provide an accurate data center inventory to the OMB. In turn, the OMB 

then does not have an accurate count of data centers within the scope of the FDCCI. In addition, 

Page 9
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

if there are too many data centers (no matter their size) supporting the organization, they lead to 

power inefficiencies and add unnecessary cost, taking resources that could be used for other IT 

organization purposes. The IRS continues to incur energy costs at those locations where leases 

will be renewed or where many years remain before lease expiration. We could not determine 

the additional cost the IRS is incurring to continue operating the data centers not included in the 

IRS’s DCCI. The IRS does not have metering technology in place to measure electric use at its 

data centers. As a result, the IRS could not provide data center energy usage and cost 

information. 

Recommendations 

To ensure the most energy and space-efficient data center configurations, the CTO should: 

Recommendation 4: Work with the Real Estate and Facilities Management organization to 

correct the inventory when the DCCI PMO identifies discrepancies during local site visits. 

Management’s Response: The IRS agreed with this recommendation. The 

Enterprise Operations organization will work with the Real Estate and Facilities 

Management organization within Agency-Wide Shared Services to develop a formal 

process to correct the data center inventory. 

Recommendation 5: Formalize plans to develop and apply a baseline footprint to the IRS’s 

small data centers. 

Management’s Response: The IRS agreed with this recommendation. The 

Enterprise Operations organization, in coordination with the Real Estate and Facilities 

Management organization, will develop a baseline footprint for the IRS’s small data 

centers. This footprint will be applied to future build out and/or space reduction projects 

in small data centers, where cost effective. 

Recommendation 6: Update the annual inventory submitted to the Department of the 

Treasury to include all data centers, regardless of size. 

Management’s Response: The IRS agreed with this recommendation. The IRS will 

update the annual inventory submitted to the Department of the Treasury to include all 

data centers. 

To ensure the most efficient use of computer room air conditioners at the IRS’s data centers, the 

CTO, in conjunction with the Chief, Agency-Wide Shared Services, should: 

Recommendation 7: Identify and shut down computer room air conditioners no longer 

needed. 

Management’s Response: The IRS agreed with this recommendation. The 

Enterprise Operations organization, in coordination with the Real Estate and Facilities 

Page 10
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

Management organization, will formalize a process for identifying and shutting down 

computer room air conditioners that are no longer needed. 

Recommendation 8: Adjust the set point temperatures as appropriate on the remaining 

computer room air conditioners in accordance with industry best practices. 

Management’s Response: The IRS agreed with this recommendation. The 

Enterprise Operations organization, in coordination with the Real Estate and Facilities 

Management organization, will formalize a process for ensuring that computer room air 

conditioners are adjusted to industry standard air conditioner set point temperatures. 

Page 11
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

Appendix I

Detailed Objective, Scope, and Methodology 

The overall objective of this audit was to determine whether the IRS’s DCCI would effectively 

reduce data center space and increase energy efficiency. To accomplish this objective, we: 

I. Identified all OMB and Department of the Treasury data center consolidation 

requirements and criteria, as well as industry best practices, which would be used to 

evaluate the IRS’s DCCI. 

A. Researched the Federal CIO website to identify and obtain OMB and Federal CIO 

FDCCI requirements and criteria. 

B. Researched the Department of the Treasury website to identify and obtain any DCCI 

requirements. 

C. Researched the Internet, including the Federal CIO website, to identify FDCCI best 

practices. 

D. Scheduled and summarized criteria and best practices. 

II. Determined if the IRS’s DCCI meets Federal requirements and includes appropriate 

governance, goals, and metrics to effectively achieve data center consolidation. 

A. Evaluated the governance and oversight of the IRS’s DCCI to determine if executives 

are sufficiently informed of the results. 

B. Determined if IRS data center consolidation plans are consistent with Department of 

the Treasury and OMB guidelines as well as industry best practices. 

C. Determined if goals have been established for the DCCI. 

D. Determined if the IRS has established metrics to monitor progress toward 

accomplishing DCCI goals. 

E. Determined if the IRS’s DCCI plans include all of its data centers, regardless of size, 

and assessed any related consolidation plans. We selected a judgmental1

 sample of 

eight of 107 data centers, greater than 500 square feet, not included in the scope of the 

IRS’s DCCI. The sample selection was based on data center square footage and type 

of systems located at each data center. We chose a judgmental sample to include the 

 

1

 A judgmental sample is a nonstatistical sample, the results of which cannot be used to project to the population. 

Page 12
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

largest of the data centers not included in the scope of the IRS’s DCCI as well as two 

data centers requested by DCCI PMO management. 

F. Determined if the IRS has considered multiple consolidation alternatives at the ECCs. 

III. Determined if the IRS’s DCCI plans include all costs, savings, funding, and return on 

investment considerations to effectively measure and accomplish DCCI goals. 

A. Determined if the IRS captures and tracks the costs of operating its data centers. 

B. Determined if the IRS can identify all costs associated with its DCCI plans and 

activities. 

C. Determined if the IRS has computed expected savings to be realized from its DCCI 

efforts. 

D. Determined if the IRS has calculated the return on investment for its DCCI. 

E. Determined if the DCCI plans address how the efforts will be funded. 

IV. Determined if the IRS’s DCCI plans are being effectively implemented to reduce data 

center space and reduce energy costs. 

A. Determined if the IRS has been using metrics to demonstrate its progress towards 

meeting DCCI goals. 

B. Determined if the IRS is using actual incurred cost data for tracking the effectiveness 

of its DCCI efforts. 

C. Identified DCCI savings achieved. 

D. Determined if the IRS is meeting its DCCI goals to reduce energy costs and 

consumption. 

Internal controls methodology

Internal controls relate to management’s plans, methods, and procedures used to meet their 

mission, goals, and objectives. Internal controls include the processes and procedures for 

planning, organizing, directing, and controlling program operations. They include the systems 

for measuring, reporting, and monitoring program performance. We determined the following 

internal controls were relevant to our audit objective: the Enterprise Operations and Real Estate 

and Facilities Management organizations’ plans, policies, and processes to manage, monitor, and 

report on the status and progress of the IRS’s DCCI. We evaluated these controls by 

interviewing the DCCI management, analyzing the DCCI documentation, and visiting selected 

data centers.

Page 13
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

Appendix II 

Major Contributors to This Report 

Alan R. Duncan, Assistant Inspector General for Audit (Security and Information Technology 

Services) 

Danny Verneuille, Director 

John Ledford, Audit Manager 

Joan Bonomi, Lead Auditor 

Myron Gulley, Senior Auditor 

Curtis Kirschner, Senior Auditor 

Ryan Perry, Senior Auditor 

Page 14
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

Appendix III 

Report Distribution List 

Principal Deputy Commissioner 

Office of the Commissioner – Attn: Chief of Staff C 

Deputy Commissioner for Operations Support OS 

Chief, Agency-Wide Shared Services OS:A 

Associate Chief Information Officer, Enterprise Operations OS:CTO:EO 

Director, Enterprise Computing Center OS:CTO:EO:EC 

Director, Real Estate and Facilities Management OS:A:RE 

Chief Counsel CC 

National Taxpayer Advocate TA 

Director, Office of Legislative Affairs CL:LA 

Director, Office of Program Evaluation and Risk Analysis RAS:O 

Office of Internal Control OS:CFO:CPIC:IC 

Audit Liaison: Director, Risk Management Division OS:CTO:SP:RM 

Page 15
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

Appendix IV 

Outcome Measure 

This appendix presents detailed information on the measurable impact that our recommended 

corrective actions will have on tax administration. This benefit will be incorporated into our 

Semiannual Report to Congress 

Type and Value of Outcome Measure: 

 Cost Savings – Funds Put to Better Use – Potential; $15 million per year; $60 million over a 

four-year period (see page 3). 

Methodology Used to Measure the Reported Benefit: 

In a prior audit report1 dated May 7, 2010, TIGTA recommended that current and future IRS data 

center space needs be identified and plans developed to consolidate or reduce excess data center 

space. IRS management agreed with this recommendation and stated that the Enterprise 

Operations organization would take the lead in the process of assessing the current state of data 

center space and developing a plan of action for space consolidation, where appropriate. 

In meetings with IRS managers in March 2012 during the planning of this audit, we inquired 

about the status and plans for the ECC-Detroit and were informed that no decision had been 

made. During this audit, we observed significant empty data center space at the ECC-Detroit. 

We were informed by IRS management that the IRS’s lease for this space will expire in 

April 2015 and that the systems that remain at this location could be moved to other IRS data 

centers. Therefore, it is our opinion that the IRS should close the data center at the ECC-Detroit. 

In July 2012, during this audit, the IRS’s CTO announced the closure of the ECC-Detroit. Prior 

to the announcement, all of the DCCI documentation indicated that the IRS would maintain a 

data center at the ECC-Detroit. We believe the decision to close the ECC-Detroit was due, in 

part, to this audit as well as the TIGTA’s prior report recommendation. 

The IRS’s CTO estimates that the IRS will save approximately $15 million annually by closing 

the ECC-Detroit. The $15 million estimated annual savings for the closing of the ECC-Detroit 

was calculated in the following manner. Currently, the IRS occupies 484,000 square feet of 

space in the Detroit facility, at a fully loaded rental rate of $53.23 per square foot. This equates 

to approximately $25 million in annual costs. When the IRS ceases data center operations in 

Detroit, the IRS will no longer require the facility to have Level 5 security, but rather a standard 

 

1

 TIGTA, Ref. No. 2010-20-044, Implementing Best Practices and Additional Controls Can Improve Data Center 

Energy Efficiency and the Environmental and Energy Program, p. 12 (May 2010). 

Page 16
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

level, and will only require traditional office space. As a result, the IRS will seek to obtain a 

rental agreement that is more commensurate with the current Detroit market rate of 

approximately $29 per square foot for (non–data center) office space. In addition, after the data 

center function leaves the facility, the IRS can eliminate the square footage currently needed for 

this function and can right-size the office space as well; the estimated space required for the IRS 

office function will be approximately 354,000 square feet. If the IRS is able to obtain a rental 

rate approximating the $29 per square foot market rate and reduce the amount of space leased to 

approximately 354,000 square feet, the new estimated annual costs would be approximately 

$10 million, representing an estimated annual rent and operating cost savings of approximately 

$15 million ($25 million in current costs minus $10 million in new estimated costs). While this 

benefit will extend beyond one year for the IRS, we are conservatively estimating the savings 

over four years. 

Page 17
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

Appendix V 

Glossary of Terms 

Page 18

Term Definition 

Campus The data processing arm of the IRS. The campuses process paper 

and electronic submissions, correct errors, and forward data to the 

Computing Centers for analysis and posting to taxpayer accounts. 

Consolidation An approach to reducing data center space that involves moving 

servers to a few selected data centers or moving small data centers 

to larger centers. 

Decommission An approach to accomplishing data center consolidation that 

involves turning off servers that are not being used or are used 

infrequently. 

Governance A set of processes, guidelines, and policies that guide and affect 

the direction of an organization’s behavior or assets. 

Green Information 

Technology 

Optimal use of information and communication technology for 

managing the environmental sustainability of enterprise 

operations, as well as that of their products, services, and 

resources, throughout their life cycles. 

Information Technology 

® Infrastructure Library 

A set of practices for information technology service management 

that focuses on aligning information technology services with the 

needs of business. The Information Technology Infrastructure 

Library® describes procedures, tasks, and checklists used by an 

organization for establishing a minimum level of competency. It 

allows the organization to establish a baseline from which it can 

plan, implement, and measure. It is used to demonstrate 

compliance and to measure improvement. 

Virtualization An approach that helps to accomplish data center consolidation. It 

involves moving applications and data on several physical servers 

onto a single virtual server. 
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

Appendix VI 

Management’s Response to the Draft Report 

Page 19
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

Page 20
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

Page 21
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

Page 22
The Data Center Consolidation Initiative Has Made 

Significant Progress, but Program Management Should 

Be Improved to Ensure That Goals Are Achieved

Page 23