Digital modernization

Official: NASA to Save Resources Through Digital Modernization, Shared Services

Digital modernization will allow NASA to save a lot of time and money as Congress refused to fully deliver the agency’s budget request for fiscal 2021, an official said.

Pinar Moore, project manager at NASA, said the agency has already invested in the information technology infrastructure required for shared services, which he said are important for cutting down costs, Federal News Network reported Tuesday.

“We investigate all the network and infrastructure problems, hardware, software and IT services incident data to see what is working and what’s not working for us,” Moore said.

The shared services model tasks entities to handle specific operational tasks such as accounting, human resources, IT, legal, compliance, acquisition and security. The entities effectively become internal service providers.

NASA’s shared services effort is headquartered at the John C. Stennis Space Center, a rocket testing facility in Hancock County, Mississippi.

Moore said the center provides services such as HR, procurement, financial management training, enterprise services, customer contract services and digital imaging, among others.

He said NASA has always been economical, identifying the best options to achieve its technological goals. NASA also constantly improves by consulting its subject matter experts and stakeholders, Moore added.

Congress gave NASA a budget of nearly $23.3 billion in the fiscal year 2021 omnibus spending bill. Moore said the figure sounds high but might not be enough for the agency’s ambitious projects.

The amount was $642 million more than NASA’s budget in 2020 but about $2 billion less than its $25.25 billion request, SpaceNews reported.