IBM has announced that it has been selected by the city of New York to build a more efficient, smarter technology platform for CITIServ, the city's IT infrastructure modernization program. The goal of the project is to streamline delivery of city services by consolidating and updating outdated and incompatible IT, thereby reducing energy consumption, strengthening security, and providing city workers with faster access to the latest technologies.

Ultimately, more than 50 agency data centers will be consolidated and migrated to a modern cloud computing environment that will enable faster deployment of technology solutions to New Yorkers and the agencies that serve them. The city expects the proposed IT infrastructure consolidation to deliver savings of up to $100 million over five years, while also improving the technology capabilities for city workers. The goal of CITIServ is to support the IT functions of all city agencies. IBM has been awarded the first phase of this project for the initial 14 agencies.

"IBM's work with New York represents a growing trend among local and federal government IT organizations that are looking to cloud computing and data center consolidation as a means to improve the way citizen service are delivered," said IBM general manager Bridget van Kralingen. "By modernizing technology infrastructure, government organizations are able to speed the deployment of new technologies, reduce energy and operating costs, increase security, and better understand their data in order to expedite benefits tracking, root out waste , and provide transparency to the public on performance."

The first services to be streamlined under CITIServ will be the help desk, hosting, storage, email, virtualization and network of a number of city departments. The benefits of the new CITIServ technology platform include improved IT services, strengthened physical and cyber-security controls, and a significant reduction in the city government's carbon footprint.

IBM offers cloud and data center technology capabilities specifically designed for the unique needs of government organization. The company recently announced a Federal Community Cloud and Municipal Cloud environments that enable government IT departments access to the latest technology software and services that reduce duplication and streamline efficiencies.