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Videos
June 1, 2011 Sponsored by VMware
Pennsylvania Office of Information Technology improves service to agencies and reduces costs with centralized, virtualized data center.
Summary:
Since the economic downturn began in 2008, states have faced unprecedented
budget pressure, addressing a combined budget shortfall of $430 billion for fiscal 2009-2011, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). And based on early survey data the organization has collected, it predicts still more budget turmoil ahead.
For many states, IT consolidation has been one way to achieve economies of scale that
allow valued IT services to continue despite decreased budgets, hiring freezes and limitations
on purchasing. In Pennsylvania, state leaders were well positioned to achieve these types of cost benefits, as the commonwealth has been pioneering consolidation for years.
Nearly a decade ago, Pennsylvania began consolidating some services and equipment because it saw the financial value in doing so. As the economic downturn put more pressure on state coffers, Pennsylvania stepped up its efforts, and its consolidation strategy has grown into an initiative to
consolidate all IT operations under the state’s Office of Information Technology. Recently elected Governor Tom Corbett renewed the state’s commitment to IT consolidation upon taking office in 2011. Today, the OIT hosts more than 750 applications in its data center.
