As part of the continuing effort to improve the efficiency of state government, the Michigan Department of Information Technology (MDIT) has announced the closing of three more computer centers. Data centers in the Cass Building, Hannah Building, and Constitution Hall have been closed. A total of 14 data center closures are now complete as part of the consolidation effort.

"One of the benefits of having a centralized technology shop like we have here in Michigan is that we are in a position to manage this type of an effort," said Teri Takai, Director of MDIT and CIO for the State of Michigan. "When I took this position, we had data centers scattered across Lansing and the state. We have now closed 14, with a total of 22 scheduled to close this year. Ultimately, we'll have just three managed data centers in state government."

Takai went on to explain that one of the key benefits of consolidating data centers is that the computers (servers) and the critical data that they contain are being moved into one of three hosting centers that have enhanced security and enhanced backup.

The closing of the 14 data centers has resulted in the migration of 446 servers into a more secure and managed environment and has freed more than 15,000 square feet of space.

"The amazing piece about closing these centers is that we've been able to do it without one major outage or problem," remarked Patrick Hale, head of Infrastructure Services for MDIT. "We have placed a high emphasis on protecting citizen data and on creating the efficiencies that taxpayers expect from their state government. This effort is a great example of how we've been able to do just that."
KW