Administration Increases Data Center Consolidation Savings Estimate to $5 Billion

The government now expects to save about $5 billion total by closing and consolidating federal data centers, federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel said Thursday.

That's a significant increase over the Office of Management and Budget's previous estimate of $3 billion in savings from its data center consolidation program by 2015, he said, but because of the lengthened time horizon, it's not an apples-to-apples comparison. VanRoekel did not say how many years out the $5 billion estimate went.

The office estimates $630 million in savings will flow from consolidation initiatives that are currently in the works, he said. VanRoekel was speaking in a conference call with reporters a day before agencies are scheduled to release detailed data center consolidation plans.