The Navy will seek more effective ways to acquire and operate information technology (IT) in 2012, according to Chief Information Officer (CIO) Terry Halvorsen.  In a new year message that described the Department of the Navy’s IT priorities for 2012, Halvorsen said the Navy must transform the way it manages business IT to ensure “we hit the target of reducing the IT budget by 25 percent [$2 billion] by 2017.”

He pointed to the successes in reducing costs the Navy has already achieved:  consolidating data centers, streamlining processes, eliminating obsolete applications, and leveraging enterprise processes.  Halvorsen said the Navy will continue these efforts as it focuses on 2012 priorities.

Navy IT priorities outlined by Halvorsen include establishing metrics and reporting processes to enhance transparency and better track IT spending, and implementing an approval process for IT purchases that exceed set thresholds.  To improve IT systems security, the Navy will develop risk/cost analysis and work to improve its Federal Information Security Management scores.  The Navy will also establish a communications security accountability policy, according to Halvorsen.

Halvorsen said the Navy will work closely with the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) “to develop and implement effective and cost-efficient DoD enterprise Systems.

In addition to the Navy’s set priorities, Halvorsen zeroed in on printing as a way to reduce costs.  He cited a private study that concluded that printing costs average between $600 and $1,300 annually for each employee.  He said he has directed his staff to reduce printing in a number of areas.  The CIO’s office will no longer print IT conference schedules or its IT magazine (CHIPS) and will try to conduct more electronic reviews of documents.  Halvorsen encouraged other organizations to follow this lead. 

For further information on the Navy’s IT cost-saving initiatives visit the Navy CIO website or the CHIPS magazine website.