U.S. to Close 800 Computer Data Centers

[alp227]

Source: The New York Times

The federal government plans to shut 40 percent of its computer centers over the next four years to reduce its hefty technology budget and modernize the way it uses computers to manage data and provide services to citizens.

Computer centers typically do not employ many people to tend the machines, but analysts estimate that tens of thousands of jobs will most likely be eliminated.

The federal government is the largest buyer of information technology in the world, spending about $80 billion a year. The Obama administration, in plans detailed Wednesday, is taking aim at some of that by closing 800 of its sprawling collection of 2,000 data centers. The savings, analysts say, will translate into billions of dollars a year and acres of freed-up real estate.

The government is following the lead of private business. For years, companies have been using software that shares computing tasks across several machines in a data center. The task-juggling technology enables computers to run at far higher levels of efficiency and utilization than in the past, doing more computing chores with fewer computers and fewer data centers.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/20/technology/us-to-close-800-computer-data-centers.html

[DCBob]

1. Cloud technology is much more efficient and effective.

smart move. should have been done years ago.

[indurancevile]

2. "tens of thousands of jobs will most likely be eliminated."

because unemployment isn't high enough.

[DCBob]

3. Yeah, and the same thing happened when tractors were invented.

Its the bad and good of advancements in technology.

[indurancevile]

4. When tractors were invented, there were new jobs created making tractors.

In this case, there aren't.

When tractors were invented people left the fields.

Now we're being told we should go back to them.

[DCBob]

6. but there was huge net loss..

one tractor can do the job of hundreds.

[indurancevile]

9. no, there was not a net loss in jobs at all in that era.

first steam tractor invented 1868.

first gasoline tractors on the market 1889.

Coincident with the expansion of railroads & industrialization.

There was an expansion of "jobs" & a decline in subsistence farming is what there was.

i think that actually the bush years through the recession were the only ten-year period in which there was no net expansion of jobs in us history.

[Gore1FL]

7. If security isn't a concern n/t

[awoke_in_2003]

8. Windows still blows. nt

[BeFree]

10. and the largest customer for windows is.....

The US government

Yep, we paid windows some serious coin.

[awoke_in_2003]

11. as long as Apple...

is a viable company, or Linux is still out there, I will NEVER use Winblows at home.

[trotsky]

13. Would have paid more for Macs. n/t

[dkf]

5. Modernization is good.

No point using obsolete methods and obsolete equipment.

[Marblehead]

12. the cloud

puts your data out for anyone to see

[bemildred]

14. Somebody finally noticed that big piles of data are not in themselves good for much? nt