Federal Manager's Daily Report

The 24 departments and large agencies participating in the Data Center Optimization Initiative have made “mixed progress” toward achieving the targets OMB set for them to meet by the September and especially are falling short on achieving projected savings, GAO has said.

While most have met or have plans to meet goals for closing and consolidating those centers, four do not have plans and another two are working with OMB to set revised targets, a report said.

Twenty of the agencies reported that they had achieved just above $1 billion in cost savings and avoidances, and the cumulative projected in all agency strategic plans is nearly another $600 million. However, that total is $1.1 billion less than OMB’s overall target, the result of half of the agencies reporting less in cost savings and avoidances than the targets OMB set for them.

GAO noted that in similar assessments in 2016 and 2017 it had made a total of 81 recommendations to help agencies achieve their targets, but as of March of this year, 74 had not been fully addressed.

OMB and the agencies “provided mixed responses to GAO’s findings on the progress made towards initiative goals. GAO continues to believe that implementation of the recommendations made previously will help the agencies meet OMB’s targets for cost savings and optimization of performance,” it said.