Cost savings through IT.

• Position: TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS - Brief article

States are looking at ways to reduce spending on information technology without sacrificing service to citizens or the business of government. Current IT spending in the states is estimated at $35 billion to $40 billion, typically about 1.5 percent of state budgets.

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A recent survey conducted by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers found that state chief information officers were pursuing two key ways to save money: consolidating and sharing services.

West Virginia, for example, embarked on a cost savings plan four years ago. Kyle Schafer, chief information officer for the governor's Office of Technology, reports that consolidation and standardization have reduced the cost per personal computer from more than $900 to a little more than $400. By centralizing IT organizations and e-mail domains, renegotiating and standardizing contracts, and converging voice, data and video over a single circuit, West Virginia's annual IT spending has been reduced from $51 million four years ago to $43 million today.

Michigan, one of the first states to pursue...