Army makes strides in data center consolidation

In keeping with broader Defense Department data center consolidation plans, the Army just announced its own major steps forward in reducing its vast quantities of servers and data centers.

The Army IT Agency says it has eliminated more than 30 thousand square feet of data center flooring under Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative efforts. The agency says it also has reduced user-software license cost by 10 percent, increased processor performance by 40 percent through mainframe efficiencies and increased server virtualization capacity by 30 percent, according to its news release.

"As the information technology service provider for the Pentagon and the National Capital Region, we consistently strive to meet the technology demands of our customers and support the mission of America's war fighters," ITA Executive Director Donald Adcock said in the release.

That support includes the hosting of mission-essential data on more than 6,500 servers for customers including the White House, the Red Cross and the entire Army Department headquarters.

In August, DOD CIO Teri Takai announced plans to shut down 44 military data centers by the end of fiscal 2011. As that deadline approaches, her office has yet to respond to requests for more information on exactly which data centers those will include, but Takai said last month that at least eight centers have already closed.

“DOD remains committed to identifying candidates for data center closure and consolidation in support of the [defense secretary’s] efficiency efforts and the IT Reform plan goal of closing 800 federal data centers by 2015,” Takai wrote in a blog post on cio.gov. "We are making progress on several initiatives that will increase our efficiency and effectiveness in developing systems to support our nation’s warfighters, without sacrificing security."