Federal agencies are working to optimize data centers to achieve better performance, an effort that the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports has made “mixed progress.”
New research shows that artificial intelligence (AI) is coming to help – and in some cases, is already here.
In a survey of 150 Federal IT decision-makers, MeriTalk found that half say their agency has begun piloting AI for IT optimization – with 86 percent of those agencies saying at least one of their pilot projects is focused on data centers.
Over the next five years, survey respondents predicted, artificial intelligence for IT operations (AIOps) will make the biggest impact on Federal IT optimization in the areas of application management and hybrid cloud adoption, according to the research report, “AI for IT Optimization: A Roadmap for Federal Mission Partners.”
“In the data center, AIOps is expected to increase efficiency, cybersecurity, and resource utilization,” said the report, which outlines how Federal systems integrators (FSIs) can help agencies prepare for the data-centered future.
Nearly all Federal IT leaders (97 percent) are looking for help from Federal mission partners on data center and IT optimization, the survey found. Their top requests include technical expertise, agency-specific software development, and case studies and real-world applications.
The research comes amid widespread debate about AI’s benefits and potential risks and how Federal agencies can integrate the technology into their operations. Federal spending on AI totaled $3.3 billion in 2022, a record high, and its day-to-day use is accelerating at a variety of civilian and military agencies.
Sixty-two percent of survey respondents said their agency’s data center will be unmanageable without the integration of AI in the next two years. However, 81 percent said they believe their agency leadership undervalues data center AI compared to other AI applications that may attract more attention and visibility.
Even so, based on the survey results, the report says AIOps “is under wide consideration, especially in Federal data centers,” with 22 percent of respondents having fully implemented at least one AI solution for IT optimization and another 58 percent preparing a roadmap or beginning implementation.
The most common AIOps pilots focus on cybersecurity and threat detection, the survey found. The report outlines a number of obstacles to AI integration in data centers and broader Federal IT optimization, including these survey findings:
- Just four in 10 Federal IT decision-makers feel well prepared for AIOps implementation
- The biggest challenges to adopting AI for data center optimization include lack of standardized frameworks and best practices, concern from IT staff about job security, lack of AI expertise in the agency, and data privacy concerns
- A majority (60 percent) of those surveyed feel legacy systems make it impossible to fully update IT without significant risk to ongoing operations
- More than three-quarters (77 percent) see resistance by end users to changing data procedures as a bigger hurdle to IT optimization than budget
The report recommends that FSIs focus on helping agencies get ready for AIOps in in three key areas: workforce and cultural change, data preparation and security, and IT infrastructure assessment.
“Federal IT leaders know AIOps has the power to help their agencies make better decisions more efficiently at lower costs,” the report said. It advises, “FSIs can help agencies scale implementation by sharing their expertise and projected AIOps benefits through workshops, training sessions, and project demonstrations. Work with IT leaders to set realistic expectations via measurable goals and small-scale pilot programs.”
View the report to learn more.