In order for Federal agencies to make the best decisions about moving to the cloud, they have to optimize their data centers, according to IDC researchers. The Federal government is moving to a cloud-first approach when it comes to IT infrastructure, which makes CIOs reluctant to invest in a Data Center Infrastructure Management solution to optimize their data centers to meet Data Center Optimization Initiative requirements. […]

Lawmakers should ensure law enforcement agencies can gain lawful access to information to protect their citizens and uphold U.S. laws, but without putting companies and workers at a disadvantage, according to a report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

The House of Representatives adopted Rep. Gerry Connolly’s, D-Va., amendment to extend certain provisions of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act. The FITARA Extension amendment continues three provisions that were set to expire over the past couple of years: Federal data center consolidation, transparency and risk management of major IT systems, and IT portfolio, program, and resource reviews.

Nine of the 24 agencies evaluated under the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act are currently guided by acting chief information officers, raising the question of whether IT modernization efforts will be stalled.

Twenty-three out of the 24 agencies mandated to follow the Data Center Optimization Initiative reported $3.3 billion less in planned cost savings compared to the $4 billion reported in November 2015, according to a GAO report released May 18.

In order for Federal agencies to keep up with Data Center Optimization Initiative deadlines, agencies need to step away from the spreadsheets and turn instead to a data center infrastructure management tool. Industry leaders from Schneider Electric and Nlyte said that agencies that are on track to meet the 2018 deadline are able to track data center metrics such as power usage effectiveness, server utilization, and visualization in real time.

MeriTalk sat down with Steve Harris, GM/Public Sector at Dell EMC, to discuss MGT, DCOI, and other modernization efforts.

The Department of Health and Human Services created an agencywide Integrated Project Team to meet the criteria outlined in the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act.

The Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act scorecard should be embellished with yet another column indicating whether agencies have set up the rotating capital fund outlined in the Modernizing Government Technology Act, according to Karen Evans, national director for U.S. Cyber Challenge’s Center for Internet Security.

Although the Small Business Administration’s modernization efforts are well underway, they may not be reflected on the upcoming Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act scorecard, according to Maria Roat, the agency’s chief information officer.