Officials from the Canadian government recently announced the intended closure of some 90 per cent of its dedicated data centres, setting a benchmark for IT consolidation for other countries looking to make their tech solutions more streamlined.

Currently, the North American and Commonwealth nation uses around 300 data centres for its technology needs. However, the move would bring that total down to a comparatively miniscule 20 data centres.

The data centre closures have been set as part of a wider initiative, called Shared Services Canada, to lower the burden on Canadian taxpayers and balance the budget in the country, according to Rona Ambrose, the country's Minister of Public Works and Government Services.

"Canadians work hard for their money and expect our government to manage taxpayers dollars responsibly," Ambrose said. "Shared Services Canada will have a mandate to streamline IT, save money, and end waste and duplication."

In addition to data centre consolidation, Canadian government IT workers will also set their sights on standardising the government's email portals. At present, the PWGSC said the country has more than 100 different systems at work to handle email for its many departments.

The goal of this initiative will be to see that the government has one email solution deployed for all departments, ensuring that versions are kept up to date. This, the government said, will aid interoperability as well as making it easier for people to find the proper contacts to handle their queries.

Canada's moves come closely after the United States government announced its plans to shut some 800 data centres in coming years.

Written by Jason Morton

Canadian government leads way for data centre consolidation