Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
10/10/14

The Department of Energy is still spending more than necessary on software maintenance licenses, according to a DOE Inspector General report released this week that follows up on a previous investigation finding issues with the acquisition and management of desktop software. “Although the Department had made progress in addressing our prior recommendations, we found that it had not adequately managed the acquisition and maintenance of computer software licenses,” the report states. “We determined that programs and sites routinely paid more than necessary when acquiring software licenses and generally had not maintained an inventory of software to assist with management of licenses.”

The 2006 study noted that the Department spent $4.1 million more than necessary on the software over a five-year period, while the latest investigation found $600,000 in extra costs over three years covering just a “limited range” of software and sites. “We believe that actual unnecessary expenditures and related potential savings may be significantly higher than our calculations demonstrate due to the lack of information available at sites regarding software purchases,” the report states. The price per license paid “was often greater than established government-wide acquisition contract prices available to all Federal agencies.”

Despite 2011 guidance from the Office of Management and Budget for agencies to “pool purchasing power,” DOE continues to use a “fragmented approach without a formal process” for coordinating software purchases, according to the IG. “The issues identified occurred, in part, because the Department had not developed and implemented a fully effective strategy for acquiring and managing software licenses,” the report states.

The IG recommended that DOE develop a process to ensure that software purchases are coordinated between Federal and contractor entities, and that all software licenses are appropriately tracked using asset management systems. 

DOE: Recommendations Largely Addressed

DOE management largely agreed with the report’s recommendations and noted that corrective actions are underway. “The Department agrees with the OIG’s assertion that enhancements to the software acquisition process could allow the Department to maximize and leverage its purchasing power as a large Federal entity. However, the report does not acknowledge the DOE Enterprise-wide Strategic Sourcing Program within the Office of Acquisition and Management,” which originated in 2005 to establish a comprehensive strategy for acquisitions, states the response from DOE Chief Information Officer Robert Brese.

DOE said that it had largely addressed the recommendations on the topic, but the IG said more work remains. “While management considered corrective actions completed related to our recommendations, we believe that additional work is necessary,” the IG report states.