The Department of Transportation’s latest move to hand Google a major technology contract — coming on the heels of its “OneGov” initiative — shows Washington still hasn’t learned one of its most expensive lessons: government is not a venture-capital lab.
To its credit, DOT is aggressively pursuing cost savings under President Donald Trump. In this case, it took advantage of a temporary discount offered by Google to migrate its 50,000 workers over to Google’s Workspace applications. Should those cost savings materialize – and disruption prove limited – the administration will have delivered a clear victory for taxpayers. Unfortunately, there is reason for skepticism on both accounts.
Of concern is the critical work DOT is undertaking as part of its brand-new air traffic control system (BNATS) program. Put simply, the current state of air traffic control is a disaster, as travelers well understand. Given the endless headlines just this year, one wonders if DOT leadership considered the implications of migrating towards a new system that is already taxed with delays, crashes, and resource constraints.
Perhaps they have – and can ensure a smooth landing. But as is always the case when the government is selecting winners and losers, it’s not without risk. Back in 2012, a potentially similar situation transpired where Google was awarded a Department of the Interior (DOI) contract on the basis that it would save taxpayers $500 million by 2020.
Far from those cost savings ever materializing, instead, by 2019, DOI was forced to spend over $90 million to move its 84,000 employees back to Microsoft 365 due to mission security and interoperability needs. While Google’s platform (at the time) lacked a few security certifications, far less easily rectifiable was the lack of user familiarity with its tools. All this goes to illustrate how even well-intentioned government initiatives can backfire, with hidden costs in migration, workforce training, and employee satisfaction.
Government IT decisions too often operate in a consequence-free bubble — where bureaucrats can experiment with taxpayer money, then quietly reverse course when it fails. Accountability so rarely exists because failure costs them nothing. It just costs the rest of us.
The modernization DOT is undergoing is taking place at a pivotal time, especially for air traffic control. One hopes the administration has thoroughly considered any risks of additional ‘downtime’ this move could pose. As DOT continues its efforts, it should approach these decisions with a transparent, cost-benefit analysis that makes it clear it is aware of such potential for cost overruns.
Maybe this time will be different – and DOT will be able to claim a victory for taxpayers and travelers alike. But one can’t help but worry that, in the face of such decision-making, the government could be flying blind.
Originally posted to the DC Journal.
