Feds Aim to Cut IT Costs Through Consolidation.

INFORMATION technology; DECENTRALIZATION in government; FEDERAL government; UNITED States. Office of Management & Budget; EVANS, Kate; GOVERNMENT spending policy; PUBLIC finance; HIGH technology industries

The article reports on the plan to reduce infrastructure spending of the U.S. government through consolidation, standardization and interoperability. Kate Evans, head of the information technology office at the Office of Management and Budget, said that potential government-wide cost savings are between 3.7 and six billion dollars per year if the Federal Government operates as one enterprise similar to private industry corporations. The author points out that the priorities of the government include reducing total cost of ownership, promoting a modular approach to system design and ensuring that installations of proprietary technology do not affect interoperability.