The Navy and Marine Corps are moving to consolidate their information technology systems and pursue better value purchases as they try to reduce costs in a tightening fiscal environment, the Navy’s chief information officer said yesterday.
The Department of the Navy plans to cut costs by 25 percent over the next five years on IT systems and has implemented new oversight measures to ensure the services are buying wisely, Terry Halverson told reporters during a roundtable session.
The new restrictions include a requirement that any hardware or software purchases exceeding $1 million be approved by senior officers. Vice Adm. Kendall Card, the deputy chief of naval operations, has that responsibility for the Navy. His counterpart in the Marines is Brig. Gen. Kevin Nally. Both services have since chosen to further lower the threshold cost that triggers their oversight, Halverson said.
An added layer of oversight could initially slow the acquisition process, but that negative will be “far outweighed” by cost savings, Halverson said.
Cutting costs will also involve eliminating some legacy systems, utilizing more open architecture (OA), integrating multiple systems into single ones to eliminate redundancy, consolidating data centers, buying more commercially available products and minimizing the use of customized software, Halverson said. The Navy is conducting an ongoing analysis to determine the way forward, he said.
“Where does it make sense to stop customizing applications?” Halverson said, noting one of the many questions the Navy will be evaluating as it goes the process.