Data Center Consolidation Guidance Released
Published, July 25, 2011
The Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer signed out formal data center consolidation guidance officially establishing a moratorium on the purchase of additional data center capacity.
The July 20 memo "Department of the Navy Data Center Consolidation Policy Guidance" halts the purchase of increased data center capacity without first determining that existing capacity is insufficient to meet storage needs and that it is not more cost effective to expand capacity in an existing enterprise or regional data center. Approval to make investments in data storage must be obtained from the DON CIO for Secretary of the Navy organizations and DON enterprise programs; DON Deputy CIO (DDCIO) Navy for Navy organizations and programs; or DDCIO Marine Corps for Marine Corps organizations and programs.
The memo also states that the first priority for all DON data center consolidation (DCC), continuity of operations (COOP) and disaster recovery (DR) efforts is to consolidate into DON-owned enterprise or regional data centers. The second priority is to consolidate into Department of Defense or commercial enterprise data centers.
All DON DCC, COOP and DR initiatives not already approved by the DON CIO or respective DDCIO (Navy or Marine Corps) will undergo a full business case analysis using the approved DON Enterprise Information Technology BCA Template. Exceptions will be considered for storage that supports operational mission needs when urgency does not allow a full BCA to be completed and/or bandwidth constraints make it impractical to use existing data centers.
Also as part of the process, DON CIO, DDCIO Navy and DDCIO Marine Corps will work collectively to generate and maintain a single, complete and current DON Data Center inventory that
meets all DON, DoD, and Office of Management and Budget requirements. Progress of the data center consolidation efforts will be reported to the Information Enterprise Governance Board.