WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- The federal government has canceled nearly $7 billion worth of computer purchases this year because of 'cost overruns and measurement deficiencies,' the General Services Administration announced Tuesday. The cancellations are part of a total of $18 billion in computer purchases that the government announced last month that it was putting on hold. Roger W. Johnson, head of GSA, said the government would adopt a more cost-effective method of buying computers. Johnson said that in addition to canceling $6.8 billion in acquisitions, GSA has put on hold another $4.9 billion that will be reviewed, with the potential for more savings. Johnson, the former CEO of Western Digital Corp., imposed the time- out policy last month on information technology purchases that are already in the pipeline, stopping $18 billion in computer purchases by the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Veterans Administration, the Department of Agriculture and other agencies. 'The taxpayers are not getting a good return on their investments in these products,' Johnson said. The biggest share of the cancellations came from the FAA's advanced automation system for air traffic control, which would have cost about $6 billion. The federal government is the biggest purchaser of computers in the world, with $27 billion bought this year and $200 billion over the past decade. Agencies have authority to purchase computers, but the GSA has oversight responsibility. The Time-Out policy is a cooperative effort between the GSA and the agencies, Johnson said.
Johnson said the government would adopt soon a pilot program to change the way it buys computers. The new system would involve intergovernmental and private-sector teams of experts who would 'get involved in the design and development phases of large, often very complex systems, because it is at this stage where the greatest leverage for efficiency and savings exists.' Johnson said GSA is stressing greater use of outcome-based performance measurements for expensive systems vital to an agency's mission. 'The development of these measurements has forced agencies to focus attention on how these systems provide greater benefits or services to the taxpayers,' Johnson said. GSA is working with 13 federal agencies to establish standards for 32 new systems.
