How Difficult Can Counting Be?

That is the question I asked myself when I found out that from fiscal 2005 through fiscal 2010, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has failed to come up with an accurate data center count and equipment inventory. This information comes from a recently released DHS inspector general report dated September, 27, 2010.

In an effort to physically consolidate data centers and manage certain services on an enterprise-wide level, the DHS as spent or budgeted approximately $560 million and yet STILL lacks an accurate and complete data center and equipment inventory. Please note that the title of report contains the verbiage:  ‘Initiative Needs Improvement’…  You think? I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling very safe knowing that this extremely important department can’t even provide this very basic IT function. At least we have a color-coded threat system firmly in place…

In response to this damaging report, DHS Chief Information Officer Richard Spires disputed the auditor’s contention, noting that inventories become more detailed as the migration efforts comes closer to implementation and that the department is changing its plan to incorporate lessons learned and best practices from other data consolidation efforts. What? I may be out of school here, but shouldn’t accurate counts, inventories, locations, and functions be fully gathered BEFOREa migration effort is initiated? Also, I feel that the DHS could have, at the initiation of this project, contacted any mid-sized business and learned the requisite consolidation and inventory lessons it took them 5 years to start learning…

On top of all of this, it seems that DHS is also lacking a plan for decommissioning the legacy data centers once the consolidation effort is finally completed. Can you say increased cost over-runs due to leases and other related fixed costs? I’d love to see an ROI on this endeavor, along with a project plan….    

So the answer to the question: How Difficult Can Counting Be?

– pretty tough when a proper project plan with built-in risks and contingencies are non-existant  

I, for one, really enjoy learning about how my hard-earned money is being spent so ‘efficiently’ and ‘effectively’….

TASCer