OMB Outlines IT Reforms

The Office of Management and Budget rolled out more than two dozen information technology reforms including a "cloud first" policy aimed at taking advantage of potential cost savings from delivering hosted services over the Internet.

OMB proposed 25 reforms including setting an 18-month deadline for underperforming projects to either turnaround or be terminated. As part of this effort to reduce the number of troubled projects, the OMB plan also said that funding for major IT programs will only be approved if they have a dedicated program manager and "fully staffed integrated program team," break large projects into smaller pieces that deliver "usable functionality" every six months, and include specialized IT acquisition professionals. In an effort to reduce costs and increase flexibility, the OMB has proposed using cloud computing technologies where possible. "The three-part strategy on cloud technology will revolve around using commercial cloud technologies where feasible, launching private government clouds, and utilizing regional clouds with state and local governments where appropriate," according to the report crafted by federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra. To begin this effort, OMB is calling on agencies to identify three services that can be moved to the cloud, and move one of those services to the cloud within 12 months and the remaining two within 18 months.