Data centers represent some of the most energy-intensive buildings, averaging 10 to 50 times the energy consumption of a typical commercial office building. As the nation’s largest energy consumer, the federal government is taking steps to make meaningful improvements and achieve energy and cost savings in their data centers as well as drive further maturity in information technology (IT) modernization.

The Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act establishes requirements and a framework for federal agencies. The recently released Cloud Smart and updated Office of Budget and Management Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI) Memo (M-19-19) provide guidance on how agencies can meet the requirements and make improvements in both a workable and effective manner.

On Monday, October 28, 2019, federal government leadership, including Federal Chief Information Officer of the Unites States Suzette Kent as well as IT, procurement, and data center professionals gathered at the 2019 Cloud and Infrastructure Summit to address cloud and infrastructure challenges, opportunities for IT modernization, and best practices for data management.

The Cloud and Infrastructure Community of Practice, in partnership with the Data Center and Cloud Optimization Initiative Program Management Office, hosted the event that included panel discussions, workshops, and other forums. Many of the discussions included topics such as IT modernization, IT security, acquisition, and facility management.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) engaged with attendees at FEMP’s booth on energy efficiency and resilience best practices for data centers and discussed updates to the DCOI Memo (M-19-19) as it relates to energy management strategies.

Rachel Shepherd of FEMP and Ian Hoffman of the Center for Expertise on Energy Efficiency in Data Centers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) shared resources, including a new fact sheet summarizing the energy provisions to the updated DCOI Memo (M-19-19).

The fact sheet summarizes DCOI reporting requirements and practices as they relate to energy efficiency, such as consolidation and closure of existing data centers, automated infrastructure management, and other recommendations.

For more information on energy efficiency best practices for data centers, visit FEMP’s Data Center Program and LBNL’s Center for Expertise on Energy Efficiency in Data Centers.