Public Sector IT Compliance The Private Sector Way
In March 2012, the OMB introduced the PortfolioStat process, with the next deadline for federal agencies to deliver plans set for Aug. 31.
While a series of two-hour quarterly meetings have been quietly occurring between the Office of Management and Budget and the 26 agencies to document progress, most federal CIOs have found one of their biggest challenges is calculating the cost savings resulting from their efforts. The OMB created the PortfolioStat program to address the large amount of redundant, low-priority technology investments within the federal government, but agencies are still struggling to meet this end-of-month deadline. Here is why:
The OMB is targeting a savings goal of $2.5 billion, but the GAO is claiming that number is too low and should be more like $5.5 billion. Although these numbers for IT savings are quite far apart, and might even seem impossible, they aren't when applied to comparable systems in the private sector. That is because the requirements outlined in PortfolioStat only represent a subset of what most successful commercial companies do within their IT roadmap. That, not surprisingly, is why private businesses have an advantage over public technology advances.
[Read the rest on InformationWeek]
Chris Steel is Chief Solutions Architect for Software AG Government Solutions, a leading software provider for the US federal government, helping it integrate and dramatically enhance the speed and scalability of its IT systems. Steel has more than 20 years of experience in ... View Full Bio
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