GAO: Defense lacks coordination needed for global information grid

The Defense Department plans to spend about $34 billion over five years to develop a global information grid, but the department's decentralized management approach "is not optimized to enforce investment decisions across the department," according to the Government Accountability Office.

A GAO report issued Tuesday found that the department lacks the coordination to make the grid a reality.

GAO said that while Defense's chief information officer has a leading role, military agencies have more influence on program investments and decisions than the CIO.

The department's decision-making processes, including resource allocation and managing acquisitions, have outdated mission areas and are not flexible enough to accommodate rapidly emerging technologies," GAO said, adding that the lack of integration of decision-making processes cannot ensure that development efforts are affordable or feasible.