GAO Faults Oversight Of IT Investments

Many of the government’s information technology investments lack proper oversight and transparency and end up over budget or behind schedule, according to David Powner of the Government Accountability Office.

Initiatives such as data center consolidation risk forfeiting billions in expected savings because agencies lack complete data center inventories and plans to consolidate them, according to Powner’s scheduled testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Tuesday afternoon. The Office of Management and Budget expects data center consolidation will save $3 billion by 2015.

And while OMB has improved oversight, accountability and transparency of IT spending through efforts like the federal IT Dashboard — a website that’s supposed to update the public on the performance of major IT projects — data has often been unreliable or incomplete, according to Powner...