OMB will continue to work with the Strategic Sourcing Leadership Council to drive greater efficiencies in the acquisition of commodity IT, according to supplementary budget documents.
It said that through the PortfolioStatreview process, OMB will continue to work with agencies to improve agency IT procurement processes, and find lower prices on specific commodities that agency IT managers buy.
That could include reducing mobile device costs by comparing pric¬es paid by agencies against the Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative government-wide Wire-less program prices; Synchronizing the acquisition of desktops across agencies to ensure purchases at the lowest possible price; Rationalizing the licensing of software to only pay for what’s used, and acquiring software at bulk purchase rates; and, Moving agencies from the acquisition of system-specific hardware in support of IT investments to service based solutions – such as moving opti¬mized data centers that support many investments to FedRAMP-certified cloud computing services.
Pushing Mobile
Going forward, the White House said it envisions agencies continuing to increase the number of federal services delivered via mobile de¬vices as part of its ongoing digital government strategy. OMB said it is pushing mobile as a way to improve citizen interaction with and access to government, empower the federal workforce, and help the government retool service delivery.
That strategy is based on the belief that citizens should be able to access government information anywhere, anytime, and on any de¬vice.
As examples of mobile innovation, OMB cited a Census Bu¬reau mobile app called “America’s Economy” providing real time updates to 16 key economic indicators, the Na¬tional Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s SaferCar app which offers information on recalls, complaints and safety ratings, and an Arlington National Cemetery Explorer Application enabling family members and the public to explore the Arlington National Cemetery’s events, locate gravesites, or other points of interest.
