DATA CENTER 

CONSOLIDATION

Strengthened 

Oversight Needed to 

Achieve Cost Savings 

Goal

Report to Congressional Requesters

April 2013

GAO-13-378

United States Government Accountability Office

GAO
United States Government Accountability Office

Highlights of GAO-13-378, a report to 

congressional requesters 

April 2013 

DATA CENTER CONSOLIDATION 

Strengthened Oversight Needed to Achieve Cost 

Savings Goal

Why GAO Did This Study

In 2010, as focal point for information 

technology management across the 

government, OMB’s Federal Chief 

Information Officer launched the 

Federal Data Center Consolidation 

Initiative—an effort to consolidate the 

growing number of federal data 

centers. In July 2011 and July 2012, 

GAO evaluated 24 agencies’ progress 

and reported that nearly all of the 

agencies had not completed a data 

center inventory or consolidation plan 

and recommended that they do so.

As requested, GAO reviewed federal 

agencies’ continuing efforts to 

consolidate their data centers. This 

report (1) evaluates agencies' reported 

progress against OMB’s planned 

consolidation and cost savings goals 

and (2) assesses the extent to which 

the oversight organizations put in place 

by OMB for the Federal Data Center 

Consolidation Initiative are adequately 

performing oversight of agencies' 

efforts to meet these goals. GAO 

assessed agencies’ progress against 

OMB’s goals, analyzed the execution 

of oversight roles and responsibilities, 

and interviewed OMB, GSA, and Data 

Center Consolidation Task Force

officials about their efforts to oversee 

agencies’ consolidation efforts.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is recommending that OMB’s 

Federal Chief Information Officer track 

and report on key performance 

measures, extend the time frame for 

achieving planned cost savings, and 

improve the execution of important 

oversight responsibilities. OMB agreed 

with two of GAO’s recommendations 

and plans to evaluate the remaining 

recommendation related to extending 

the time frame.

What GAO Found 

The 24 agencies participating in the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative 

made progress towards the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) goal to 

close 40 percent, or 1,253 of the 3,133 total federal data centers, by the end of 

2015, but OMB has not measured agencies’ progress against its other goal of $3 

billion in cost savings by the end of 2015. Agencies closed 420 data centers by 

the end of December 2012, and have plans to close an additional 548 to reach

968 by December 2015—285 closures short of OMB’s goal. OMB has not 

determined agencies’ progress against its cost savings goal because, according 

to OMB staff, the agency has not determined a consistent and repeatable 

method for tracking cost savings. This lack of information makes it uncertain 

whether the $3 billion in savings is achievable by the end of 2015. Until OMB 

begins tracking and reporting on performance measures such as cost savings, it

will be limited in its ability to oversee agencies’ progress against key initiative 

goals. Additionally, extending the horizon for realizing planned cost savings could 

provide OMB and data center consolidation stakeholders with input and 

information on the benefits of consolidation beyond OMB’s initial goal.

Pursuant to OMB direction, three organizations—the Data Center Consolidation 

Task Force, the General Services Administration (GSA) Program Management 

Office, and OMB—are responsible for federal data center consolidation oversight 

activities; while most activities are being performed, several weaknesses exist. 

Specifically, 

• While the Data Center Consolidation Task Force has established several 

initiatives to assist agencies in their consolidation efforts, such as holding 

monthly meetings to facilitate communication among agencies, it has not 

adequately overseen its peer review process for improving the quality of 

agencies' consolidation plans. For example, the Task Force did not provide 

agencies with guidance for conducting peer reviews and did not provide 

oversight to ensure that all agencies exchanged plans.

• The GSA Program Management Office has collected agencies’ quarterly 

data center closure updates and made the information publically available on 

an electronic dashboard for tracking consolidation progress, but it has not 

fully performed other oversight activities, such as conducting analyses of 

agencies’ inventories and plans. 

• OMB has implemented several initiatives to track agencies’ consolidation 

progress, such as establishing requirements for agencies to update their 

plans and inventories yearly and to report quarterly on their consolidation 

progress. However, the agency has not approved the plans on the basis of 

their completeness or reported on progress against its goal of $3 billion in 

cost savings. 

The weaknesses in oversight of the data center consolidation initiative are due, in 

part, to OMB not ensuring that assigned responsibilities are being executed.

Improved oversight could better position OMB to assess progress against its cost 

savings goal and minimize agencies’ risk of not realizing anticipated cost 

View GAO-13-378. For more information, savings. 

contact David A. Powner at (202) 512-9286 or 

pownerd@gao.gov. 
Page i GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

Letter 1 

Background 2

Consolidation of Federal Data Centers is Under Way, but 

Initiativewide Cost Savings Have Not Been Determined 10

Oversight of FDCCI is Not Being Performed in All Key Areas 16

Conclusions 24

Recommendations for Executive Action 25

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 25

Appendix I Objectives, Scope, and Methodology 28

Appendix II Comments from the Office of Management and Budget 30

Appendix III GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 32

Table

Table 1: Key Responsibilities of FDCCI Oversight and Governance 

Organizations 18

Figure

Figure 1: Agencies’ Progress against OMB’s Data Center 

Consolidation Goal (as of February 2013) 12

Contents 
Page ii GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

Abbreviations

CIO chief information officer

FDCCI Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative

GSA General Services Administration

IT information technology

OMB Office of Management and Budget

Task Force Data Center Consolidation Task Force

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Page 1 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

United States Government Accountability Office 

Washington, DC 20548

April 23, 2013

Congressional Requesters

The federal government’s demand for information technology (IT) is ever 

increasing. In recent years, as federal agencies have modernized their 

operations, put more of their services online, and increased their 

information security profiles, their need for computing power and data 

storage resources has increased. Over time, this increasing demand led 

to a dramatic rise in the number of federal data centers and a 

corresponding increase in operational costs. In response, the Office of 

Management and Budget’s (OMB) Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO) 

launched the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative (FDCCI) in 

2010.

In July 2011 and July 2012, we reported1 on the progress the 24 

participating federal departments and agencies2

 

1

GAO, Data Center Consolidation: Agencies Making Progress on Efforts, but Inventories 

and Plans Need to Be Completed, 

were making on this 

initiative, noting that, while progress has been made, as of July 2012 

nearly all of the agencies had not yet completed a data center inventory 

or the consolidation plans needed to implement their consolidation 

initiatives. As a result, we recommended that OMB require agencies to 

complete their missing inventory and plan elements. While OMB did not 

specifically comment on our recommendation, the agency took some 

actions to address these deficiencies, which are discussed later in this 

report.

GAO-12-742 (Washington, D.C.: July 19, 2012) and 

Data Center Consolidation: Agencies Need to Complete Inventories and Plans to Achieve 

Expected Savings, GAO-11-565 (Washington, D.C.: July 19, 2011). 

2

The 24 major departments and agencies that participate in the Federal Data Center 

Consolidation Initiative are the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, 

Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban 

Development, the Interior, Justice, Labor, State, Transportation, the Treasury, and 

Veterans Affairs; the Environmental Protection Agency, General Services Administration, 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Science Foundation, Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, Office of Personnel Management, Small Business 

Administration, Social Security Administration, and U.S. Agency for International 

Development. 

 
 

Page 2 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

Given the importance of the consolidation initiative, this report responds 

to your request that we review federal agencies’ continuing efforts to 

consolidate their data centers. Specifically, our objectives were to (1) 

evaluate agencies’ reported progress against OMB’s planned 

consolidation and cost savings goals and (2) assess the extent to which 

the oversight organizations put in place by OMB for FDCCI are 

adequately performing oversight of agencies’ efforts to meet these goals.

To address our first objective, we compared the 24 agencies’ data center 

facility consolidations as they reported them on the website, 

http://data.gov, to OMB’s planned consolidation goals. We also 

interviewed OMB staff from the Office of E-Government and Information 

Technology about their efforts to monitor agencies’ reported consolidation 

progress and to track consolidation cost savings. To address our second 

objective, we analyzed FDCCI-related documentation, such as OMB 

memoranda and project charters, to determine the roles and 

responsibilities of key FDCCI oversight organizations, including the 

General Services Administration’s (GSA) FDCCI Program Management 

Office and the Data Center Consolidation Task Force (Task Force). To 

determine the extent to which oversight roles and responsibilities were 

being executed, we analyzed supporting documentation provided by 

these organizations regarding their efforts to oversee agencies’ data 

center consolidation efforts. We also interviewed OMB, GSA, and Task 

Force officials about their efforts to oversee agencies’ progress in 

consolidating their data centers.

We conducted this performance audit from October 2012 to April 2013 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 objectives. We believe that 

the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and 

conclusions based on our audit objectives. Appendix I contains further 

details about our objectives, scope, and methodology.

Over the last 15 years, the federal government’s increasing demand for IT 

has led to a dramatic rise in the number of federal data centers and a 

corresponding increase in operational costs. According to OMB, the 

federal government had 432 data centers in 1998 and more than 1,100 in 

2009. Operating such a large number of centers is a significant cost to the 

federal government, including costs for hardware, software, real estate, 

and cooling. For example, according to the Environmental Protection 

Background
 

Page 3 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

Agency, the electricity cost to operate federal servers and data centers 

across the government is about $450 million annually. According to the 

Department of Energy, data center spaces can consume 100 to 200 times 

more electricity than a standard office space. According to OMB, reported 

server utilization rates as low as 5 percent and limited reuse of data 

centers within or across agencies lends further credence to the need to 

restructure federal data center operations to improve efficiency and 

reduce costs.

Concerned about the size of the federal data center inventory and the 

potential to improve the efficiency, performance, and the environmental 

footprint of federal data center activities, OMB, under the direction of the 

Federal CIO, established FDCCI in February 2010. This initiative’s four 

high-level goals are to

• promote the use of “green IT”3 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 IT security posture of the government; and

• shift IT investments to more efficient computing platforms and 

technologies.

As part of FDCCI, OMB required the 24 agencies to identify a senior, 

dedicated data center consolidation program manager to lead their 

agency’s consolidation efforts. In addition, agencies were required to 

submit an asset inventory baseline and other documents that would result 

in a plan for consolidating their data centers. The asset inventory baseline 

was to contain detailed information on each data center and identify the 

consolidation approach to be taken for each one. It would serve as the 

foundation for developing the final data center consolidation plan. The 

data center consolidation plan would serve as a technical road map and 

approach for achieving the targets for infrastructure utilization, energy 

 

3

“Green IT” refers to environmentally sound computing practices that can include a variety 

of efforts, such as using energy efficient data centers, purchasing computers that meet 

certain environmental standards, and recycling obsolete electronics.

OMB and the Federal CIO 

Established the Federal 

Data Center Consolidation 

Initiative
 

Page 4 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

efficiency, and cost efficiency and was to be incorporated into the 

agency’s fiscal year 2012 budget. 

In October 2010, OMB reported that all of the agencies had submitted an 

inventory and plan. In addition, in a series of memoranda, OMB described 

plans to monitor agencies’ consolidation activities on an ongoing basis. 

Starting in fiscal year 2011, OMB required agencies to provide an 

updated data center asset inventory at the end of every third quarter and 

an updated consolidation plan (including any missing elements) at the 

end of every fourth quarter. Further, starting in fiscal year 2012, OMB 

required agencies to provide a consolidation progress report at the end of 

every quarter.

While OMB is primarily responsible for FDCCI, the agency designated 

two agency CIOs to be executive sponsors to lead the effort within the 

Federal CIO Council,4

• The GSA FDCCI Program Management Office is to support OMB in 

the planning, execution, management, and communications for 

FDCCI.

the principal interagency forum to improve ITrelated practices across the federal government. In addition, OMB 

identified two additional organizations to assist in managing and 

overseeing FDCCI:

• The Data Center Consolidation Task Force is comprised of the data 

center consolidation program managers from each agency. According 

to its charter, the Task Force is critical to supporting collaboration

across the FDCCI agencies, including identifying and disseminating 

key pieces of information, solutions, and processes that will help 

agencies in their consolidation efforts.

 

4

As of February 2013, OMB had assigned one CIO from the Department of the Interior. 

Initially there had been two, but one resigned as executive sponsor and OMB stated that 

they had no plans to fill the second position.
 

Page 5 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

OMB has used different definitions for a data center throughout the life of 

FDCCI. In 2010, OMB defined a “data center” as any room used for the 

purpose of processing or storing data that is larger than 500 square feet, 

is used for processing or storing data, and meets stringent availability 

requirements.5

“...a data center is...a closet, room, floor or building for the storage, management, and 

dissemination of data and information and [used to house] computer systems and 

associated components, such as database, application, and storage systems and data 

stores [excluding facilities exclusively devoted to communications and network equipment 

(e.g., telephone exchanges and telecommunications rooms)]. A data center generally 

includes redundant or backup power supplies, redundant data communications 

connections, environmental controls...and special security devices housed in leased, 

owned, collocated, or stand-alone facilities.”

While agencies included other facilities classified as a 

“server room” (typically smaller than 500 square feet) and “server closet” 

(typically smaller than 200 square feet) in their inventories, these facilities 

were not included in OMB’s final tally of data centers. However, in 

October 2011, the Federal CIO expanded the definition to include a 

facility of any size. OMB further clarified its definition in March 2012, as 

follows:

6

Under the first definition, OMB identified 2,094 data centers in July 2010. 

Using the new definition from October 2011, OMB estimated that there 

were a total of 3,133 federal data centers in December 2011,7

 

5

For more information on the classifications used to define availability requirements, see 

Uptime Institute, Industry Standard Tier Classifications Define Site Infrastructure 

Performance (Santa Fe, N.Mex.: 2005). 

and its goal 

was to consolidate approximately 40 percent for a savings of 

approximately $3 billion by the end of 2015.

6

OMB, Implementation Guidance for the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative

(Washington, D.C.: Mar. 19, 2012).

7

The number changes as agencies identify new centers, but agencies are only required to 

provide updated inventories once a year, by the end of June.

With an Expanded 

Definition, OMB’s 

Inventory of Federal Data 

Centers Has Grown 
 

Page 6 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

In March 2012, OMB launched the PortfolioStat initiative, which requires 

agencies to conduct an annual agency-wide IT portfolio review to, among 

other things, reduce commodity IT8 spending and demonstrate how its IT 

investments align with the agency’s mission and business functions.9

In September 2012, the Federal CIO wrote in an e-mail to agencies that 

OMB was planning to integrate FDCCI with the PortfolioStat initiative to 

allow agencies to focus on an enterprisewide approach to address all 

commodity IT, including data centers, in an integrated, comprehensive 

plan and that agencies should continue to focus on optimizing those data 

centers that are essential to delivering taxpayer services, while continuing 

to close those that are duplicative. In addition, the e-mail directed 

agencies to delay submitting their October 1, 2012, submissions of 

updated consolidation plans until further guidance could be provided. 

However, agencies were still to report quarterly updates on their data 

center closures. Going forward, the Federal CIO wrote that OMB plans to 

require agencies to submit and publish updated consolidation plans that 

reflect these new points of emphasis and integrate data center 

consolidation with the enterprisewide plans to reduce commodity IT and 

decrease duplicative applications as part of overall portfolio management. 

PortfolioStat is designed to assist agencies in assessing the current 

maturity of their IT portfolio management process, make decisions on 

eliminating duplication, and move to shared solutions in order to 

maximize the return on IT investments across the portfolio. To support 

this initiative, agencies were required to take several actions including 

designating a lead for PortfolioStat by April 9, 2012, holding their first 

PortfolioStat session by July 31, 2012, and submitting a final plan to 

consolidate commodity IT by August 31, 2012.

More recently, in March 2013, OMB issued a memorandum documenting 

the integration of FDCCI with PortfolioStat.10

 

8

According to OMB, commodity IT includes services such as IT infrastructure (data 

centers, networks, desktop computers and mobile devices); enterprise IT systems (e-mail, 

collaboration tools, identity and access management, security, and web infrastructure); 

and business systems (finance, human resources, and other administrative functions).

Among other things, the 

9

OMB, Implementing PortfolioStat, Memorandum M-12-10 (Washington D.C.: Mar. 30, 

2012).

10OMB, Fiscal Year 2013 PortfolioStat Guidance: Strengthening Federal IT Portfolio 

Management, Memorandum M-13-09 (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 27, 2013). 

OMB Is Integrating FDCCI 

with the PortfolioStat 

Initiative
 

Page 7 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

memorandum discusses OMB’s efforts to further the PortfolioStat 

initiative by incorporating several changes, such as consolidating 

previously collected IT-related plans, reports, and data submissions. The 

memorandum also establishes new agency reporting requirements and 

related time frames. Specifically, agencies are no longer required to 

submit the data center consolidation plans previously required under 

FDCCI. Rather, agencies are to submit information to OMB via three 

primary means—an information resources management strategic plan,11

an enterprise road map,12 and an integrated data collection channel.13

Agencies’ draft versions of their strategic plans and enterprise road maps

are due to OMB in May 2013, as well as their first integrated data 

collections. The integrated data collections are to be updated quarterly 

beginning in August 2013 and the strategic plans and road maps are to 

be updated after Congress receives the President’s budget for fiscal year 

2015. Agencies are still required to update their data center inventories by 

the end of June 2013 and report quarterly on consolidation progress. The 

memorandum and its implications on FDCCI are discussed in more detail 

later in this report.

We have previously reported on OMB’s efforts to consolidate federal data 

centers. In March 2011, we identified data center consolidation as one of 

the 81 areas within the federal government with the opportunity to reduce 

potential duplication, overlap, and fragmentation. In this regard, we 

reported on the status of FDCCI and noted that data center consolidation 

made sense economically and was a way to achieve more efficient IT 

 

11OMB, Management of Federal Information Resources, Circular A-130 (Washington, 

D.C.: Nov. 30, 2000). According to OMB Circular A-130, an agency’s information 

resources management strategic plan should describe how information resources 

management activities help accomplish agency missions, and ensure that information 

resource management decisions are integrated with organizational planning, budget, 

procurement, financial management, human resources management, and program 

decisions. 

12OMB, Increasing Shared Approaches to Information Technology Services (Washington, 

D.C.: May 2, 2012). The enterprise road map is to include a business and technology 

architecture, an IT asset inventory, a commodity IT consolidation plan, a line of business 

service plan, and an IT shared service plan. 

13The integrated data collection channel will be used by agencies to report structured 

information, such as progress in meeting IT strategic goals, objectives, and metrics, as 

well as cost savings and avoidances resulting from IT management actions. 

GAO Has Previously 

Reported on Federal Data 

Center Consolidation 

Efforts
 

Page 8 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

operations, but that challenges existed.14

In July 2011, we issued a report on the status of FDCCI and found that 

only 1 of the 24 agencies had submitted a complete inventory and no 

agency had submitted complete plans.

For example, agencies reported 

facing challenges in ensuring the accuracy of their inventories and plans, 

providing upfront funding for the consolidation effort before any cost 

savings accrued, and overcoming cultural resistance to major 

organizational changes, among other things.

15

Additionally, in July 2012, we updated our review of FDCCI’s status and 

found that, while agencies’ 2011 inventories and plans had improved as 

compared to their 2010 submissions, only 3 agencies had submitted a 

complete inventory and only 1 agency had submitted a complete 

consolidation plan.

Further, OMB had not required 

agencies to document the steps they had taken, if any, to verify the 

inventory data. We concluded that until these inventories and plans were 

complete, agencies would not be able to implement their consolidation 

activities and realize expected cost savings. Moreover, without an

understanding of the validity of agencies’ consolidation data, OMB could 

not be assured that agencies were providing a sound baseline for 

estimating consolidation savings and measuring progress against those 

goals. Accordingly, we made several recommendations to OMB, including 

that the Federal CIO require that agencies, when updating their data 

center inventory, state what actions were taken to verify the information in 

the inventory and to identify any associated limitations on the data, and to 

complete the missing elements in their inventories and consolidation 

plans. OMB generally agreed with our report and has since taken actions 

to address our recommendations. For example, in July 2011, OMB 

required agency CIOs to submit a letter that identified steps taken to 

verify their data center inventory information and attest to the 

completeness of their consolidation plan. In addition, in March 2012, OMB 

required that all agencies, by the end of the fourth quarter of every fiscal 

year, complete all elements missing from their consolidation plans.

16

 

14GAO, Opportunities to Reduce Potential Duplication in Government Programs, Save 

Tax Dollars, and Enhance Revenue, 

In addition, we noted that 3 agencies had submitted 

their inventory using an outdated format, in part, because OMB had not 

GAO-11-318SP (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 1, 2011).

15GAO-11-565. 

16GAO-12-742. 
 

Page 9 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

publicly posted its revised guidance. Notwithstanding these weaknesses, 

we found that 19 agencies reported anticipating about $2.4 billion in cost 

savings between 2011 and 2015.

We also reported that none of five selected agencies had a master 

program schedule or cost-benefit analysis that was fully consistent with 

best practices. To assist agencies with their data center consolidation 

efforts, OMB had sponsored the development of a FDCCI total cost of 

ownership17

 

17OMB refers to total cost of ownership as all associated data center-related activities and 

costs without regard to ownership, project association, or funding line.

model that was intended to help agencies refine their 

estimated costs for consolidation; however, agencies were not required to 

use the cost model as part of their cost estimating efforts. Accordingly, we 

reiterated our prior recommendation that agencies complete missing plan 

and inventory elements and made new recommendations to OMB to 

publically post guidance updates on the FDCCI website and to require 

agencies to use its cost model. OMB generally agreed with our 

recommendations and has since taken steps to address them. More 

specifically, OMB posted its 2012 guidance for updating data center 

inventories and plans, as well as guidance for reporting consolidation 

progress, to the FDCCI public website. Further, the website has been 

updated to provide prior guidance documents and OMB memoranda. In 

addition, OMB’s 2012 consolidation plan guidance requires agencies to 

use the cost model as they develop their 2014 budget request.
 

Page 10 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

We and other federal agencies18 have documented the need for initiatives 

to develop performance measures to gauge progress. According to 

government and industry leading practices, performance measures 

should be measurable, outcome-oriented, and actively tracked and 

reported. For FDCCI, OMB originally established goals for data center 

closures and the expected cost savings. Specifically, OMB expected to 

consolidate approximately 40 percent of the total number of agency data 

centers and achieve $3 billion in cost savings by the end of 2015, and 

established the means of measuring performance against those goals 

through several methods. While agencies have made progress on their 

number of data center consolidations, OMB has not measured 

initiativewide progress against its cost savings goal. According to OMB 

staff from the Office of E-Government and Information Technology, the 

agency has not yet determined a consistent and repeatable method for 

tracking cost savings. Until OMB begins tracking cost savings, it will be 

limited in its ability to evaluate progress and to determine whether or not 

FDCCI is on course toward achieving planned performance goals. In 

March 2013, however, OMB issued a memorandum that made significant 

changes to FDCCI reporting, but changes to goals and reporting 

requirements were not fully addressed.

The 24 agencies have collectively made progress towards OMB’s data 

center consolidation goal to close 40 percent, or approximately 1,253 of 

the 3,133 data centers, by the end of 2015. To track their progress, OMB 

requires agencies to report quarterly on their completed and planned 

performance against that goal via an online portal. After being reviewed 

for data quality and security concerns, the GSA FDCCI Program 

Management Office makes the performance information available on the 

federal website dedicated to providing the public with access to datasets 

developed by federal agencies, http://data.gov. 

 

18GAO, Aviation Weather: Agencies Need to Improve Performance Measurement and 

Fully Address Key Challenges, GAO-10-843 (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 9, 2011); GAO, 

NextGen Air Transportation System: FAA’s Metrics Can Be Used to Report on Status of 

Individual Programs, but Not of Overall NextGen Implementation or Outcomes, 

GAO-10-629 (Washington, D.C.: July 27, 2010); OMB, Guide to the Program Assessment 

Rating Tool (Washington, D.C.: January 2008); Department of the Navy, Office of the 

Chief Information Officer, Guide for Developing and Using IT Performance Measurements

(Washington, D.C.: October 2001); and GSA, Performance-Based Management: Eight 

Steps To Develop and Use Information Technology Performance Measures Effectively 

(Washington, D.C.: 1996). 

Consolidation of 

Federal Data Centers 

is Under Way, but 

Initiativewide Cost 

Savings Have Not 

Been Determined

Progress Made on Data 

Center Closures, but Size 

of Facilities Is Not 

Reported
 

Page 11 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

As of February 2013, agencies had collectively reported closing a total of 

420 data centers by the end of December 2012,19 and were planning to 

close an additional 396 data centers—for a total of 816—by September 

2013.20

http://data.gov

While the number of data centers that agencies are planning to 

close from October 2013 through December 2015 (the planned 

completion date of FDCCI) is not reported on , OMB’s July 

2012 quarterly report to Congress21 on the status of federal IT reform 

efforts contains other information on agencies’ data center closure plans. 

Among other things, the report states that agencies have collectively 

committed to closing a total of 968 data centers by the end of 2015. 

According to OMB staff from the Office of E-Government and Information 

Technology, this figure represents the number of commitments reported 

by agencies, as compared to the initiative’s overall goal of closing 1,253 

data centers by December 2015. The agencies have not identified the 

remaining 285 consolidation targets to achieve that goal. OMB’s January 

2013 quarterly report to Congress22

 

19Of the 24 agencies, 17 reported closing at least one data center by the end of 

December 2012. The remaining 7 agencies did not report closing any data centers during 

this time.

does not provide any new information 

about either planned or completed agency data center closures. See 

figure 1 for a graphical depiction of agencies’ progress against OMB’s 

data center consolidation goal.

20Of the 24 agencies, 19 reported plans to close at least one data center by the end of 

September 2013. The remaining 5 agencies did not report plans to close any data centers 

in this time frame.

21OMB, Quarterly Report to Congress: Integrated, Efficient, and Effective Uses of 

Information Technology (Washington, D.C.: July 30, 2012).

22OMB, Quarterly Report to Congress: Integrated, Efficient, and Effective Uses of 

Information Technology (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 31, 2013).
 

Page 12 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

Figure 1: Agencies’ Progress against OMB’s Data Center Consolidation Goal (as of 

February 2013)

In addition to tracking and reporting on agencies’ performance against the 

planned number of data center closures, tracking and reporting the size of 

the centers being closed is important to get a comprehensive view of 

progress. Specifically, compared to a smaller data center, a large data 

center is more costly to operate due to increased costs for hardware, 

software, real estate, and cooling. Because of these higher costs, the 

closure of large data centers is a key aspect of achieving OMB’s $3 billion 

savings goal. OMB staff from the Office of E-Government and Information 

Technology also noted that, when making decisions about specific 

facilities, agencies must take into account information such as that 

presented in the previously mentioned FDCCI total cost of ownership 

model that we reviewed in July 2012.23

 

23GAO-12-742. 
 

Page 13 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

While OMB has collected data on agencies’ data center sizes, it has not 

reported on these data. Specifically, agencies are required to provide the 

size of their data centers as part of their data center inventory updates, 

and staff from OMB’s Office of E-Government and Information 

Technology and GSA’s FDCCI Program Management Office stated that 

these data are maintained in an electronic data center inventory portal. 

Still, one OMB staff member noted that the size of individual facilities is 

only known to the extent that this information is reported by an agency. 

We reported in July 201224 that the size of 966, or almost one-third, of the 

2,897 centers listed in agencies’ 2011 inventories could not be 

determined, thus further clouding OMB’s visibility into the size of 

agencies’ data centers. As a result, we reiterated our prior 

recommendation that agencies complete their data center inventories, 

which include information on the size of specific facilities.25

http://data.gov

In addition, 

the size of the centers being closed has not been reported on 

—the primary tool OMB is using to track consolidation 

progress. The OMB staff further indicated that the agency has not used 

data center size as a performance measure of FDCCI progress. In 

January 2013, these staff added that the agency was reevaluating its 

performance measures as part of the integration of FDCCI with 

PortfolioStat and, as part of this effort, was considering additional 

measures such as the data center size, uses, and business and mission 

needs, but did not commit to the exact performance measures that would 

be used.

Shortly thereafter, in March 2013, OMB issued a memorandum26

 

24

on the 

integration of FDCCI and PortfolioStat, which provides direction on the 

use of key performance indicators, including requirements for the 

development of energy, facility, and labor metrics, among other things.

However, the memorandum does not provide information regarding the 

measurement and reporting of these performance indicators, or indicators 

specific to the size of data centers being closed. Until OMB begins to 

measure and report on key performance indicators such as the size of 

data centers being closed, stakeholders in the federal consolidation effort 

GAO-12-742. 

25In July 2011, we recommended that OMB require agencies to submit complete data 

center inventories and consolidation plans. In response, OMB required that agencies do 

so. However, we did not assess the completeness of agency inventories for this review.

26OMB Memorandum M-13-09. 
 

Page 14 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

will lack important information about the relative scope of agencies’ 

closures, and consequently, OMB will be limited in its ability to oversee 

agencies’ progress against its cost savings goal.

OMB has not measured agencies’ progress against the cost savings goal 

of $3 billion by the end of 2015. According to a staff member from OMB’s 

Office of E-Government and Information Technology, as of November 

2012, the total savings to date have not been tracked but were believed 

to be minimal. The staff member added that, although data center 

consolidation involves reductions in costs for existing facilities and 

operations, it also requires investment in new and upgraded facilities and, 

as a result, any current savings are often offset by the reinvestment of 

those funds into ongoing consolidation efforts. Finally, the staff member 

stated that OMB recognizes the importance of tracking cost savings and 

is working to identify a consistent and repeatable method for tracking cost 

savings as part of the integration of FDCCI with PortfolioStat, but stated 

that there was no time frame for when this would occur.

The lack of initiativewide cost savings data makes it unclear whether 

agencies will be able to achieve OMB’s projected savings of $3 billion by 

the end of 2015. In previous work, we found that agencies’ cost savings 

projections were incomplete and, in some cases, unreliable. Specifically, 

in July 2012,27 we reported that most agencies had not reported their 

expected cost savings in their 2011 consolidation plans. Officials from 

several agencies reported that this information was still being developed. 

Notwithstanding these weaknesses, our analysis of agencies’ 2011 

consolidation plans (the most recent plans available) indicates that 

agencies had reported anticipating cost savings that collectively total 

about $701 million by the end of 2012—with 3 years remaining to achieve 

additional savings.28

 

27

The extent of savings projected for the end of 2012 

demonstrates the importance of determining the total initiativewide cost 

savings realized to date. Further, we found that agencies collectively 

reported anticipating about $2.4 billion in cumulative cost savings by the 

GAO-12-742. 

28The Department of Defense estimated it would achieve about $671 million in cost 

savings by the end of 2012, which accounts for about 96 percent of the total anticipated 

cost savings.

Initiativewide Cost Savings 

Have Not Been 

Determined
 

Page 15 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

end of 2015 (the planned completion date of FDCCI).29 With less than 3 

years remaining to the 2015 FDCCI deadline, almost all agencies still 

need to complete their inventories and consolidation plans and continue 

to identify additional targets for closure. As closing facilities is a significant 

driver in realizing consolidation savings, the time required to realize 

planned cost savings will likely extend beyond the current 2015 time 

frame. With at least one agency not planning on realizing savings until 

after 2015 and other agencies having not yet reported on planned 

savings, there is an increased likelihood that agencies will either need 

more time to meet the overall FDCCI savings goal or that there are 

additional savings to be realized in years beyond 2015. Until OMB begins 

tracking cost savings data, the agency will be limited in its ability to 

determine whether or not FDCCI is on course toward achieving planned 

performance goals. Additionally, extending the horizon for realizing 

planned cost savings could provide OMB and FDCCI stakeholders with 

input and information on the benefits of consolidation beyond OMB’s 

initial goal. 

OMB’s recent integration of FDCCI with PortfolioStat includes a

modification to the previously mentioned FDCCI goal of closing 

approximately 40 percent of the total number of agency data centers and 

does not address the goal of achieving $3 billion in cost savings by the 

end of 2015. According to OMB, to more effectively measure the 

efficiency of an agency’s data center assets, agency progress will no 

longer be measured solely by closures. Instead, agencies will also be 

measured by the extent to which their data centers are optimized for total 

cost of ownership by incorporating metrics for energy, facility, labor, and 

storage, among other things. In addition, OMB stated that the Task Force 

will categorize agencies’ data center population into two categories—core 

and non-core data centers—for which the memorandum does not provide 

specific definitions. Additionally, as previously discussed, agencies are no 

longer required to submit the data center consolidation plans previously 

required under FDCCI. Rather, agencies are to submit information to 

OMB via three primary means—an information resources management 

strategic plan, an enterprise road map, and an integrated data collection 

 

29One agency—the Department of Defense—estimated about $2.2 billion in cost savings 

by the end of 2015, which accounts for about 92 percent of the total anticipated cost 

savings. However, the department’s consolidation plan noted that their cost savings 

estimates do not account for any up-front costs associated with the consolidation effort. 

Recent Integration with 

PortfolioStat Changes 

FDCCI Reporting, but 

Goals and Requirements

Are Not Fully Addressed
 

Page 16 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

channel. Using these tools, an agency is to report on, among other things, 

its approach to optimizing its data centers; the state of its data center 

population, including the number of core and non-core data centers; the 

agency’s progress on closures; and the extent to which an agency's data 

centers are optimized for total cost of ownership. 

However, OMB’s memorandum did not fully address the revised goals 

and reporting requirements of the combined initiative. Specifically, OMB 

stated that its new goal is to close 40 percent of non-core data centers 

but, as previously mentioned, the definition of a core and non-core data 

center was not provided. Therefore, the total number of data centers to be 

closed under OMB’s revised goal cannot be determined. In addition,

although OMB has indicated which performance measures it plans to use 

going forward, such as energy and labor, it has not documented the 

specific metrics for agencies to report against. The memorandum 

indicates that these will be developed by the Task Force, but does not 

provide a time frame for when this will be completed. Lastly, although 

OMB has previously stated that PortfolioStat is expected to result in 

savings of approximately $2.5 billion through 2015, OMB’s memorandum 

does not establish a new cost savings goal for FDCCI, nor does it refer to 

the previous goal of saving $3 billion. Instead, OMB states that all cost 

savings goals previously associated with FDCCI will be integrated into 

broader agency efforts to reshape their IT portfolios, but does not provide 

a revised savings estimate. The lack of a new cost savings goal will 

further limit OMB’s ability to determine whether or not the new combined 

initiative is on course toward achieving its planned objectives.

We have previously reported that oversight and governance of major IT 

initiatives help to ensure that the initiatives meet their objectives and 

performance goals.30

 

30GAO, USDA Systems Modernization: Management and Oversight Improvements Are 

Needed, 

When an initiative is governed by multiple entities, 

the roles and responsibilities of those entities should be clearly defined 

and documented, including the responsibilities for coordination among 

GAO-11-586 (Washington, D.C.: July 20, 2011); United States Coast Guard: 

Improvements Needed in Management and Oversight of Rescue System Acquisition, 

GAO-06-623 (Washington, D.C.: May 31, 2006); and Information Technology Investment 

Management: A Framework for Assessing and Improving Process Maturity, GAO-04-394G 

(Washington, D.C.: March 2004).

Oversight of FDCCI is 

Not Being Performed 

in All Key Areas
 

Page 17 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

those entities. We have further reported,31 and OMB requires,32 that an 

executive-level body be responsible for overseeing major IT initiatives. 

Among other things, we have reported that this body should have 

documented policies and procedures for management oversight of the 

initiative, regularly track progress against established performance goals, 

and take corrective actions as needed. As the FDCCI executive-level 

body, OMB has put in place a governance hierarchy that is responsible 

for FDCCI oversight activities; while most of these activities are being 

performed, several weaknesses exist. The weaknesses in oversight are 

due, in part, to OMB not ensuring that assigned responsibilities are being 

executed. Improved oversight could better position OMB to assess 

progress against its cost savings goal and minimize agencies’ risk of not 

realizing anticipated cost savings. OMB’s March 2013 memorandum

made significant changes to FDCCI; however, the impact on several key 

FDCCI oversight responsibilities is not addressed. 

Oversight and governance of FDCCI is the responsibility of several 

organizations—the Task Force, the GSA FDCCI Program Management 

Office, and OMB. Roles and responsibilities for these organizations are 

documented in the Task Force charter and OMB memoranda, while 

others are described in OMB’s January 2013 quarterly report to Congress 

or have been communicated by agency officials. For example, through its 

charter, the Task Force is given responsibility for assisting agencies with 

the development of their consolidation plans and assisting OMB with 

launching an electronic public dashboard for tracking the progress of 

agencies’ consolidation efforts. OMB memoranda assign the GSA FDCCI 

Program Management Office the responsibility of collecting agencies’ 

data center inventories in June and consolidation plans in September of 

each year. OMB memoranda also establish OMB’s responsibility for 

providing executive-level oversight and approving agencies’ data center 

consolidation plans. Other responsibilities were not documented in official 

policy, but were shared with us by agency staff and confirmed in OMB’s 

January 2013 quarterly report to Congress. For example, agency staff 

described additional GSA FDCCI Program Management Office 

 

31GAO-11-586, GAO-06-623, and GAO-04-394G.

32OMB, Capital Programming Guide, V. 3.0, Supplement to OMB Circular A-11: Planning, 

Budgeting, and Acquisition of Capital Assets, (Washington, D.C.: July 2012). The Capital 

Programming Guide is intended to help agencies effectively plan, procure, and use capital 

assets. 

Oversight Responsibilities 

Have Been Assigned to 

Three Organizations
 

Page 18 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

responsibilities, including analyzing agencies’ inventories and plans and 

providing OMB with quarterly and ad-hoc reports on consolidation 

progress. In addition, the Task Force Chairperson stated that the Task 

Force has been responsible for developing and administering the peer 

review process for agencies’ consolidation plans. See table 1 for a listing 

of the FDCCI oversight and governance entities and their key 

responsibilities.

Table 1: Key Responsibilities of FDCCI Oversight and Governance Organizations

Organization FDCCI responsibilities

Task Force • Hold monthly meetings to facilitate communication between agencies

• Communicate and coordinate agency best practices

• Identify policy and implementation issues that could negatively impact agencies’ abilities to meet their 

FDCCI goals

• Assist agencies with development of their consolidation plans

• Develop and manage the data center total cost of ownership model (GSA)a

• Develop an electronic governmentwide marketplace for data center availability (GSA and OMB)

• Oversee the agency consolidation plan peer review process

GSA FDCCI Program 

Management Office

• Collect agencies’ consolidation inventories and plans annually (inventories in June; plans in 

September)

• Under OMB direction, collect and disseminate data related to the FDCCI closure updates

• Provide ad-hoc and quarterly reports to OMB regarding agencies’ reported consolidation updates

• Maintain and update FDCCI-related online portals, such as http://CIO.gov and http://data.gov (i.e., the 

consolidation progress dashboard)

• Develop and manage the data center total cost of ownership model (Task Force)

• Provide agency support including technical assistance on the total cost of ownership model and 

clarifying inventory and plan requirements

• Develop an electronic governmentwide marketplace for data center availability (Task Force and 

OMB)

• Conduct analysis of FDCCI inventories and plans, including reviewing agencies’ submissions for 

errors 

OMB • Establish and manage FDCCI

• Provide Federal CIO policy and guidance to the initiative

• Launch an electronic public dashboard to track consolidation progress

• Develop an electronic governmentwide marketplace for data center availability (Task Force and 

GSA)

• Approve federal agency consolidation plans

• Report quarterly to the Senate and House Committees on Appropriations identifying the savings 

achieved by OMB's governmentwide IT reform effort, which includes FDCCI

• Provide executive-level oversight of FDCCI

Source: GAO analysis of OMB data and agency interviews.

Note: Bold text indicates a responsibility that is shared with the entities indicated in parentheses. 

a

This model is intended to provide agencies with a comprehensive tool to help inform decision 

making, model paths, and the development of cost savings figures and funding needs. 
 

Page 19 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

The Task Force has been assigned and has executed a wide range of 

FDCCI responsibilities, many of which are related to assisting agencies in 

their consolidation efforts. For example, the Task Force holds monthly 

meetings to, among other things, communicate and coordinate 

consolidation best practices and to identify policy and implementation 

issues that could negatively impact the ability of agencies to meet their 

goals. Further, the Task Force has assisted agencies with the 

development of their consolidation plans by discussing lessons learned 

during its monthly meetings and disseminating new OMB guidance. In 

addition, the Task Force worked with the GSA FDCCI Program 

Management Office to develop a standard total cost of ownership model 

intended to help agencies in the development of cost savings figures in 

their consolidation plans, among other things, and has also assisted with 

its ongoing management by establishing a change control process. 

Lastly, the Task Force worked with GSA and OMB to launch an electronic 

governmentwide data center marketplace that is intended to match 

agencies that have extra data center capacity with agencies with 

increasing demand, thereby improving the utilization of existing facilities.

However, the Task Force has not provided oversight of the agency 

consolidation peer review process. According to officials, the purpose of 

the peer review process was for agencies to get feedback on their 

consolidation plans and potential improvement suggestions from a 

partner agency with a data center environment of similar size and 

complexity. While the Task Force documented the agency pairings for 

2011 and 2012 reviews, the Task Force Chairperson stated that they did 

not perform checks to ensure that all agencies had exchanged plans. As 

a result, the GSA FDCCI Program Manager acknowledged that there may 

have been cases where agencies did not exchange their plans, but was 

not completely sure because this had not been tracked. In addition, the 

Task Force did not provide agencies with guidance for executing their 

peer reviews, including information regarding the specific aspects of 

agency plans to be reviewed and the process for providing feedback. As 

a result, the peer review process did not ensure that significant 

weaknesses in agencies’ plans were identified. As previously mentioned, 

in July 2012, we reported33

 

33

that all of the agencies’ plans were incomplete 

except for one. In addition, we noted that three agencies had submitted 

their June 2011 inventory updates, a required component of consolidation 

GAO-12-742. 

Task Force Provides 

Important Assistance to 

Agencies, but Has Not 

Overseen Plan Peer 

Reviews
 

Page 20 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

documentation, in an incorrect format—an outdated template. At the time, 

agency officials told us that they did not realize they were relying on an 

outdated inventory template, an oversight that might have been identified 

through a robust peer review process.

Several actions have been taken to address these communication issues. 

Specifically, OMB has posted updated inventory and plan guidance on 

the FDCCI website and committed to posting future guidance in a similar 

manner, and officials from GSA’s FDCCI Program Management Office 

stated that inventory data are now being collected via an electronic portal 

to help prevent format issues. However, well-documented peer review 

guidance and improved Task Force oversight of this process can help 

ensure that similar situations are avoided in the future. According to OMB 

staff from the Office of E-Government and Information Technology, 

guidance for the peer review process has not been documented because 

the expectation has been that agencies, as part of their review of another 

agency’s plan, would determine the most important areas of the plan on 

which to provide feedback. Until OMB ensures that the peer review 

process is documented, agencies will lack the necessary guidelines for 

carrying out their peer reviews and the likelihood of any errors or missing 

elements in agencies’ inventories and consolidation plans not being 

detected is increased.

In its supporting role, the GSA FDCCI Program Management Office has 

been assigned and has performed a broad set of responsibilities, 

including many that are related to assisting OMB in managing FDCCI. For 

example, GSA has collected responses to OMB-mandated document 

deliveries, including agencies’ consolidation inventories and plans, on an 

annual basis. Further, GSA has collected data related to FDCCI data 

center closure updates, disseminated the information publically on the 

consolidation progress dashboard on http://data.gov, and provided ad hoc 

and quarterly updates to OMB regarding these data. GSA has also 

maintained and updated other FDCCI-related online portals, such as 

http://CIO.gov. In addition, GSA worked with the Task Force to develop 

the total cost of ownership model, assists with the ongoing management 

of the model, and provides ongoing technical assistance to agencies 

regarding the model, as well as inventory and plan requirements. Lastly, 

GSA worked with the Task Force and OMB to launch an electronic 

governmentwide marketplace for data center availability.

However, the GSA FDCCI Program Management Office has not executed 

its responsibilities related to analyzing agencies’ inventories and plans 

GSA Assists OMB in 

Managing FDCCI, but 

Reviews of Inventories and 

Plans Were Incomplete
 

Page 21 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

and reviewing these documents for errors. In July 2012, we reported on 

agencies’ progress toward completing their inventories and plans and 

found that only three agencies had submitted a complete inventory and 

only one agency had submitted a complete plan, and that most agencies 

did not fully report cost savings information and eight agencies did not 

include any cost savings information.34 In addition, we noted that three 

agencies had submitted their inventory using an outdated template. 

According to OMB’s January 2013 quarterly report to Congress, GSA is 

responsible for analyzing agencies’ inventories and plans, but this report 

does not provide any information on specific analysis requirements. In 

contrast, officials from GSA’s FDCCI Program Management Office stated 

that their office does not do any significant validation of agencies’ 

consolidation plans, but typically checks to see if any major sections 

(such as cost savings) are missing. Because OMB has not required 

agencies to submit updated plans since September 2011, the lack of cost 

savings information is particularly important because, as previously noted, 

initiativewide cost savings have not been determined—a shortcoming that 

could potentially be addressed if agencies had submitted complete plans 

that addressed cost savings realized, as required. A mechanism to help 

ensure that GSA’s review requirements are fully executed could provide 

OMB with reasonable assurance that any gaps between agency plans 

and OMB’s requirements are identified.

After establishing FDCCI in 2010, OMB has taken several actions to 

manage the initiative and to facilitate and oversee agencies’ consolidation 

progress. As the FDCCI executive-level body, OMB is responsible for 

managing FDCCI and ensuring that roles and responsibilities are fully 

documented and carried out as intended. For example, OMB issued 

FDCCI policies and guidance in a series of memoranda that, among other 

things, required agencies to provide an updated data center asset 

inventory at the end of every third quarter and an updated consolidation 

plan at the end of every fourth quarter. In addition, OMB has also put in 

place mechanisms to track and report on progress against one of its key 

performance goals, the consolidation of approximately 40 percent of the 

total data centers by the end of 2015. In this regard, OMB launched a 

publically available electronic dashboard to track and report on agencies’ 

consolidation progress and, starting in fiscal year 2012, required agencies 

 

34GAO-12-742. 

OMB Has Partially 

Reported Agencies’ 

Consolidation Progress, 

but Has Not Approved 

Agency Plans or Tracked 

Cost Savings
 

Page 22 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

to report quarterly via an online portal on their completed and planned 

data center consolidation efforts. Lastly, OMB worked with the Task Force 

and GSA to launch an electronic governmentwide marketplace for data 

center availability.

However, although OMB is the approval authority of agencies’ 

consolidation plans, it has not approved agencies’ submissions on the 

basis of their completeness. In an October 2010 memorandum, OMB 

stated that its approval of agencies’ consolidation plans was in progress 

and would be completed by December 2010. However, OMB did not 

issue a subsequent memorandum indicating that it had approved 

agencies’ plans, or an updated time frame for completing its review. This 

is important because, in July 2011 and July 2012, we reported that 

agencies’ consolidation plans had significant weaknesses and that nearly 

all were incomplete.35 Staff from OMB’s Office of E-Government and 

Information Technology have since stated that OMB is not responsible for 

ensuring that agencies’ plans are complete, rather that the agencies are 

solely responsible for this effort. While these staff have also 

acknowledged that all FDCCI roles and responsibilities have not been 

formally documented, OMB’s October 2010 FDCCI memorandum

documents OMB’s responsibility for approving agencies’ consolidation 

plans. Further, in recognizing OMB’s role in providing executive-level 

oversight of the initiative, we have also previously reported that OMB is 

responsible for ensuring that agencies submit complete plans.36

Additionally, OMB has not reported on agencies’ progress against its key 

performance goal of achieving $3 billion in cost savings by the end of 

2015. Although the 2012 Consolidated Appropriations Act included a 

provision directing OMB to submit quarterly progress reports to the 

Senate and House Appropriations Committees that identify savings 

Until 

OMB reviews and approves agencies’ consolidation plans on the basis of 

their completeness, OMB and the FDCCI agencies may remain unaware 

of any gaps between these plans and OMB’s requirements, furthering the 

risk that agencies will move ahead with consolidation efforts that do not 

fully support OMB’s anticipated cost savings goal.

 

35GAO-11-565 and GAO-12-742. 

36GAO-11-565. 
 

Page 23 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

achieved through governmentwide IT reform efforts,37 OMB has not yet 

reported on cost savings realized for FDCCI. Instead, the agency’s 

quarterly reports have only described planned FDCCI-related savings and 

stated that future reports will identify savings realized. As of the January 

2013 report, no such savings have been reported. As previously 

mentioned, OMB has not yet started to track agencies’ progress against 

its cost savings goal because the agency is working to identify a 

consistent and repeatable method for tracking cost savings. OMB staff 

stated that they will begin reporting on cost savings after they determine 

the appropriate method for tracking progress against this goal, but did not 

know when this would occur. Until OMB fulfills its responsibility to track 

and report on consolidation cost savings, the agency cannot begin to 

measure progress against a key FDCCI performance goal and 

stakeholders in the federal consolidation effort may not receive 

information critical for monitoring the progress of a key government IT 

reform effort. 

OMB’s March 2013 memorandum integrating FDCCI with the 

PortfolioStat initiative documents several oversight responsibilities related 

to data center consolidation under the new combined initiative. As 

previously mentioned, the memorandum describes OMB’s responsibilities 

for collecting agencies’ information resources management strategic 

plans, enterprise road maps, and integrated data collections, as well as

the Task Force’s responsibility for developing data center performance 

metrics for energy, facility, and labor, among other things. The 

memorandum also states that GSA is still responsible for collecting 

agencies’ data center inventories in June 2013.

However, several other important oversight responsibilities related to data 

center consolidation are not addressed. For example, with the elimination 

of the requirement to submit separate data center consolidation plans 

under the new combined initiative, the memorandum does not discuss 

whether either the Task Force or the GSA Program Management Office 

will continue to be used in their same oversight roles for review of 

agencies’ documentation. In addition, while the memorandum discusses 

OMB’s responsibility for reviewing agencies’ draft strategic plans, it does 

 

37Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012, Pub. L. No. 112-74, div. C, title II, 125 Stat. 786, 

896 (2011).

Impact of FDCCI 

Integration with 

PortfolioStat on Key 

Oversight Responsibilities 

Is Not Addressed
 

Page 24 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

not discuss the responsibility for approving these plans. In the absence of 

defined oversight assignments and responsibilities, it cannot be 

determined how OMB will have assurance that agencies’ plans meet the 

revised program requirements and, moving forward, whether these plans 

support the goals of the combined initiative.

After more than 3 years into FDCCI, agencies have made progress in 

their efforts to close data centers. However, many key aspects of the 

integration of FDCCI and PortfolioStat, including new data center 

consolidation and cost savings goals, have not yet been defined. Further 

compounding this lack of clarity, total cost savings to date from data 

center consolidation efforts have not been determined, creating 

uncertainty as to whether OMB will be able to meet its original cost 

savings goal of $3 billion by the end of 2015. Additionally, even though 

best practices promote the importance of establishing comprehensive 

performance measures, OMB is not reporting on a key component of 

consolidation progress, namely the size of facilities that are being closed, 

and current agency consolidation progress indicates that additional time 

will be needed beyond the original 2015 target in order to realize 

anticipated cost savings. In the absence of tracking and reporting on key 

performance measures, notably cost savings, and additional time for 

agencies to achieve planned savings, OMB will be challenged in ensuring

that the initiative, under this new direction, is meeting its established 

objectives.

Recognizing the importance of effective oversight of major IT initiatives, 

OMB directed that three oversight organizations—the Task Force, the 

GSA FDCCI Program Management Office, and OMB—be responsible for 

federal data center consolidation oversight activities. In establishing this 

oversight structure, these organizations have established and fulfilled 

responsibilities designed to better ensure that federal data center 

consolidation meets its planned goals, including facilitating collaboration 

among agencies and developing tools to assist agencies in their 

consolidation efforts. However, other key oversight activities have not 

been performed. Most notably, the lack of formal guidance for 

consolidation plan peer reviews and approval increases the risk that 

missing elements will continue to go undetected and that agencies’ efforts 

will not fully support OMB’s goals. Further, while OMB has put in place 

initiatives to track consolidation progress, consolidation inventories and 

plans are not being reviewed for errors and cost savings are not being 

tracked or reported. The collective importance of these activities to 

federal data center consolidation success reinforces the need for 

Conclusions
 

Page 25 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

oversight responsibilities to be fulfilled in accordance with established 

requirements. 

To better ensure that FDCCI achieves expected cost savings and to 

improve executive-level oversight of the initiative, we are making three

recommendations to OMB. Specifically, we are recommending that the 

Director of OMB direct the Federal CIO to

• track and annually report on key data center consolidation

performance measures, such as the size of data centers being closed 

and cost savings to date;

• extend the time frame for achieving cost savings related to data 

center consolidation beyond the current 2015 horizon, to allow time to 

meet the initiative’s planned cost savings goal; and

• establish a mechanism to ensure that the established responsibilities 

of designated data center consolidation oversight organizations are 

fully executed, including responsibility for the documentation and 

oversight of the peer review process, the review of agencies’ updated 

consolidation inventories and plans, and approval of updated 

consolidation plans.

We received comments on a draft of our report from OMB and GSA. 

Specifically, in written comments, the Federal CIO stated that the agency 

concurred with the first and third recommendation. Regarding the second 

recommendation, OMB neither agreed nor disagreed. However, the 

Federal CIO stated that, as the FDCCI and PortfolioStat initiatives 

proceed and continue to generate savings, OMB will consider whether 

updates to the current time frame are appropriate. OMB’s written 

comments are provided in appendix II.

GSA provided technical comments in which it stated that it disagreed with 

our finding that the agency has not executed its responsibilities related to 

analyzing agencies’ inventories and plans. Specifically, GSA stated that 

its FDCCI Program Management Office is not set up to perform audit or 

in-depth review activities, that GSA’s review requirements are not 

specifically defined by OMB, and that accountability for the accuracy and 

completeness of inventories and plans lies with agency CIOs. We agree 

that agencies have a responsibility for ensuring the completeness of their 

documentation, and we note in the report that agency CIOs are required 

to attest to the completeness of their consolidation plans. However, as 

Recommendations for 

Executive Action

Agency Comments 

and Our Evaluation
 

Page 26 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

also mentioned in this report, OMB documentation specifically states that 

the GSA FDCCI Program Management Office is responsible for analyzing 

agencies’ inventories and plans. In addition, the report includes 

information from GSA officials about their efforts to check these 

documents for missing sections. Based on these facts, we stand by our 

assessment that GSA has not fully executed its oversight responsibilities. 

Our draft report provided to OMB for comment included a 

recommendation that OMB provide the FDCCI agencies with guidance on 

how the initiative was to be integrated with PortfolioStat, including 

direction on reporting requirements and the measurement of key

performance indicators. OMB’s March 2013 memorandum provided 

guidance on how FDCCI will be integrated with PortfolioStat. Among 

other things, the memorandum included new reporting requirements and 

provided initial direction on the measurement of key performance 

indicators. As a result of OMB’s action, we have removed this 

recommendation from our final report. We also modified the language of 

our other recommendations as appropriate, taking into consideration 

OMB’s memorandum. 

As agreed with your offices, unless you publicly announce the contents of 

this report earlier, we plan no further distribution until 30 days from the 

report date. At that time, we will send copies of this report to interested 

congressional committees, the Director of the Office of Management and 

Budget, the Administrator of the General Services Administration, and 

other interested parties. In addition, the report will be available at no 

charge on GAO’s website at http://www.gao.gov. 

If you or your staffs have any questions on the matters discussed in this 

report, please contact me at (202) 512-9286 or pownerd@gao.gov. 

Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public 

Affairs may be found on the last page of this report. GAO staff who made 

major contributions to this report are listed in appendix III. 

David A. Powner

Director, Information Technology

Management Issues
 

Page 27 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

List of Requesters

The Honorable Thomas R. Carper

Chairman

The Honorable Tom Coburn, M.D.

Ranking Member

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

United States Senate

The Honorable Claire McCaskill

Chairman

Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

United States Senate

The Honorable Gerald E. Connolly

Ranking Member

Subcommittee on Government Operations

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

House of Representatives

The Honorable Susan M. Collins

United States Senate
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology

Page 28 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

Our objectives were to (1) evaluate agencies’ reported progress against 

the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) planned consolidation 

and cost savings goals and (2) assess the extent to which the oversight 

organizations put in place by OMB for the Federal Data Center 

Consolidation Initiative (FDCCI) are adequately performing oversight of 

agencies’ efforts to meet these goals.

To evaluate agencies’ reported progress, we compared the 24 

departments and agencies’ data center facility reductions as reported on 

http://data.gov with OMB’s original consolidation goals. To assess the 

reliability of these data, we reviewed related documentation, such as 

OMB’s reports to Congress on the status of information technology reform 

efforts, checked for missing data or obvious errors, and interviewed OMB 

staff from the Office of E-Government and Information Technology 

regarding actions taken to verify the data. We determined that the data 

were sufficiently reliable to report on agencies’ progress towards OMB’s 

consolidation goals. In addition, we interviewed OMB staff about their 

efforts to track consolidation cost savings. We also analyzed the 

agencies’ 2011 consolidation plans to extract estimated cost savings 

information. To assess the reliability of the data agencies provided in their 

data center consolidation plans, we relied on actions performed as part of 

our previous work to assess the reliability of the data, which included 

reviewing the letters agencies were required to submit attesting to the 

completeness and reliability of their plans, interviewing agency officials 

about actions taken to verify their data, and reviewing the past 

evaluations of agency plans. In the previous audit of FDCCI, we found 

that the data were sufficiently reliable for reporting on the completeness 

of agencies’ plans but, in our assessment of the plans, noted that most 

agencies did not fully report on their cost savings information. For this 

review, we reviewed the results of our previous data reliability 

assessment in the context of current objectives, and interviewed agency 

officials about any additional actions taken to verify the data. We 

concluded that the data were sufficiently reliable for our purposes, which 

was to report on agencies’ estimated cost savings information, but that 

limitations existed related to the completeness of agencies’ cost savings 

information. As such, we identify the limitations of these data in the 

finding sections of this report.

To assess the extent to which the oversight organizations put in place by 

OMB for FDCCI are adequately performing oversight of agency 

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology 
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology

Page 29 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

consolidation efforts, we analyzed OMB memoranda,1

We conducted this performance audit from October 2012 to April 2013 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 objectives. We believe that 

the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and 

conclusions based on our audit objectives.

the May 2011 Data 

Center Consolidation Task Force Charter, and other related 

documentation to determine the roles and responsibilities of key oversight 

organizations, including OMB, the General Services Administration 

FDCCI Program Management Office, and the Data Center Consolidation 

Task Force. We then compared supporting documentation provided by 

these organizations against their documented roles and responsibilities to 

determine the extent to which these organizations were overseeing 

agencies’ consolidation efforts in a manner consistent with their assigned 

responsibilities. In addition, we interviewed relevant OMB, General 

Services Administration, and Data Center Consolidation Task Force 

officials to determine the extent to which their oversight roles and 

responsibilities were being executed, as well as the extent to which they 

were providing oversight of agencies’ efforts to meet established 

consolidation and cost savings goals.

 

1

See, for example, OMB, Fiscal Year 2013 PortfolioStat Guidance: Strengthening Federal 

IT Portfolio Management, Memorandum M-13-09 (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 27, 2013); 

Implementation Guidance for the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative

(Washington, D.C.: Mar. 19, 2012); Update on the Federal Data Center Consolidation 

Initiative (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 1, 2010); and Federal Data Center Consolidation 

Initiative (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 26, 2010).
Appendix II: Comments from the Office of 

Management and Budget

Page 30 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

Appendix II: Comments from the Office of 

Management and Budget
Appendix II: Comments from the Office of 

Management and Budget

Page 31 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation
Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff 

Acknowledgments

Page 32 GAO-13-378 Data Center Consolidation

David A. Powner, (202) 512-9286 or pownerd@gao.gov

In addition to the contact named above, individuals making contributions 

to this report included Dave Hinchman (Assistant Director), Justin Booth, 

Nancy Glover, and Jonathan Ticehurst.

Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff 

Acknowledgments 

GAO Contact

Staff 

Acknowledgments

(311279)
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