Summary: GAO reviewed federal agencies' use of "seat management"--an information technology (IT) outsourcing alternative for distributed computing services. Under "seat management," contractor-owned desktop and other computing hardware, software, and related services are bundled and provided on the basis of a fixed price per unit. No single overarching reason emerged for agencies adoption of seat management. The most common rationales were to improve IT management, improve user support and productivity, and upgrade agency IT. All six agencies GAO reviewed reported that their seat management approaches had yielded positive results, such as better IT management and desk-help support. However, GAO could not determine whether any of the agencies were achieving expected costs benefits because they did not perform sufficient up-front analyses of their baseline and projected costs and benefits or routinely monitor all actual seat management costs and benefits. Four of the six agencies identified risks associated with seat management, such as possible cost overruns, schedule delays, or contractor performance problems. However, none of the agencies prioritized their risks, and only one identified actions to mitigate risks before implementing seat management. Agencies and seat management contractors have identified the following lessons from their implementation experiences: (1) agency commitment is crucial, especially by top management; (2) thorough up-front preparation and planning activities must be completed; (3) solicitation and contract award activities should be carefully managed; (4) program and contract management activities, including monitoring contractor performance, are key; (5) partnerships between agencies and the seat management contractors, in which they have common goals, are critical; and (6) effective and continual communication within the agency, with the seat management contractor, and among contractors working on related activities, is important.
