WASHINGTON – Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Vivek Kundra, Chief Information Officer of the United States, will host a panel of federal, state, and private sector information technology officials who will discuss the status of data center consolidation efforts in the federal government and the advantages and challenges of moving government information technology to a ‘cloud-based’ approach. The Cloud Computing and Federal Data Center Consolidation Thought Leadership event will take place on Wednesday, July 27 from 1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. at the U.S. Capitol Visitor’s Center Room SVC 201, Washington, DC.

Federal agencies have been tasked with closing 800 data centers by 2015. Just yesterday, Vivek Kundra announced a total of 373 federal data centers will be shuttered by the end of 2012. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently cited duplicative data centers as a major source of waste and inefficiency in the federal government. A big part of eliminating this waste and inefficiency will involve moving the government to a lighter and nimbler approach to computing. Under the direction of outgoing Federal CIO Vivek Kundra, the federal government has adopted a “cloud first” approach to computing, which involves moving agencies to a shared service model. Embracing this new technology and moving the federal government to the cloud doesn’t come without challenges. The panel will discuss how ‘the cloud’ works, how taxpayers can benefit, and what the federal government’s progress has been on moving to ‘the cloud.’

WHAT:
Cloud Computing and Federal Data Center Consolidation Thought Leadership Event

WHO:
Sen. Tom Carper (D- Del.)
Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.)
Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security

Vivek Kundra
Chief Information Officer
United States of America

Nick Combs
Chief Technology Officer
Federal Division
EMC Corporation

Panel Discussion

James Lewis (Moderator)
Director and Senior Fellow, Technology and Public Policy Program
Center for Strategic and International Studies

Richard Spires
Chief Information Officer
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Chris Smith
Chief Information Officer
U.S. Department of Agriculture

Dave McClure
Associate Administrator
U.S. General Services Administration Office of Citizen Services and Communications

Rudy Wolfs
Chief Information Officer
ING Direct USA

Jim Sills
Chief Information Officer
State of Delaware

***Note: Additional panelists may be added

WHEN:
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
1:00pm-2:30pm

WHERE:
U.S. Capitol Visitor’s Center
Room SVC 201
Washington, DC

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