196 federal data centers to be shuttered in fiscal 2013

The federal government plans to close 196 data centers in fiscal 2013 according to newly-released figures posted May 11 to data.gov by the General Services Administration's federal data center consolidation initiative program management office.

Of the 196 data centers set to close 106, or 54 percent, are owned by the Department of Defense. The Agriculture Department plans to close 25, almost 13 percent of the total closures planned for next year. The Health and Human Services Department plans to close 12 data centers, or about 6 percent of the total.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NASA, and the Education and State departments each plan to close 1 data center next year, according to the new numbers.

According to the updated totals on data.gov, 268 data centers were closed between Feb. 26, 2010 and April 30, 2012. It also shows that another 161 will be closed between May 1, 2012 and the end of fiscal 2012.

A March 19 memo (.pdf) from Federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel updated the reporting schedule for data center closures through fiscal 2015. The FDCCI PMO must now publicly report actual data center closures quarterly and at the end of the second quarter of each fiscal year, the office will for the first time post planned closures for the following fiscal year.

For more:
- see the data center closure list
- download VanRoekel's memo (.pdf)

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