Videoconferencing investments not affected by GSA Vegas scorcher
The ruckus raised by GSA resignations and the squandering of taxpayer dollars have not dissuaded the agency from its prior tele-investments.
As the General Services Administration's conference spending presumably ramps down -- officials recently canceled their next trip in September to the swanky M Resort Spa and Casino -- the agency's video and teleconferencing investments are getting more attention in light of the recent scandal involving alleged overspending for a live conference in Las Vegas.
Although teleconferencing and similar technologies save big bucks by reducing employee traveling expenses and have been a consistent investment for GSA for several years, officials haven't asked to either bolster or decrease those efforts, reports NextGov's Tech Insider.
The agency's CIO was asked at FOSE if GSA would spend more on technologies that reduce the need to travel now that Administrator Martha Johnson resigned on April 2 and two others were fired after a report found it cost about $822,751 to put together the 2010 Western Regions Conference.
"It's part of our mobility offerings and telework offerings...It has nothing to do with the recent goings on," Phil Klokis, CIO of GSA's Public Buildings Service told NextGov, adding that the agency has a telepresence in each of its 11 regional offices, available to all agencies on a fee-for-use basis.