Using Technology to Drive Productivity Gains

The Federal government spends nearly $80 billion annually on information technology (IT). This technology supports every mission our government performs — from defending our borders to protecting the environment. IT is essential for the government to do its work, and it is essential that we have access to the latest and most innovative technologies. However, compared to the technology-driven productivity gains seen in the private sector, the Federal government has not received commensurate return from its over $500 billion in IT investments over the past ten years. Under the leadership of the Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO), the Administration has led the effort to close the gap in effective technology use between the private and public sectors, create a more efficient Federal IT footprint, and more effectively secure our Federal assets.

Featured Story: Shutting Down Data Centers

The Federal government recently released details on the total number of data centers that will be shut down by the end of 2012, including the initial list of closures. Learn more

Key Initiatives

Effectively Managing Large-Scale IT Projects

The Federal government currently has over 7,000 ongoing IT projects, ranging from new citizen-facing services to systems that help government employees perform their jobs more effectively. Effective management of these investments is necessary to ensure that the projects develop the promised capabilities without exceeding estimated costs or going over deadline. The metrics here summarize more detailed agency-provided data available on the IT Dashboard, which provides a measure of how well agencies are doing in managing the largest investments so that citizens and managers know which investments are performing well and which need attention.

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Tabular View

Achieving Operational Efficiency

Technology is critical for agencies to work effectively, and we must ensure that we efficiently manage our technology operations—from our infrastructure to our software to our user service—in order to prevent waste of taxpayer dollars. The government’s current priorities include improving service delivery, reducing facility space usage and energy consumption, and centralizing key Federal IT services to decrease wasteful spending.

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Improving Cybersecurity

Our Nation's security and economic prosperity depend on the stability and integrity of our Federal communications and information infrastructure. Threats to cyberspace pose some of the most serious challenges of the 21st century for the United States. OMB is working with agencies, Inspectors General, Chief Information Officers, senior agency officials in charge of privacy, as well as GAO and Congress, to strengthen the Federal government's IT security and privacy programs.

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