Tech Titans Present $1 Billion Savings Plan to Trump

While tech CEOs, more broadly, have reacted coldly to Trump’s election over the last two months, they now appear to be warming to growth opportunities posed by the former businessman and self-described deal-maker.

Rometty stood out from the crowd in November by writing a letter congratulating Trump and detailing how the computer company could help his administration. She has continued this approach as part of the Technology CEO Council, which also includes Dell’s Michael Dell, Intel’s Brian Krzanich and Oracle’s Safra Catz.

When Trump met with industry leaders in New York last month, Rometty handed him a copy of the report, entitled The Government We Need, which can be viewed in full here. The initiative isn’t entirely new: tech titans presented a similar report to the incoming Obama administration eight years ago.

“We are living through a period of profound change, where cognitive computing systems and the efficiency of the cloud are transforming entire industries,” Rometty said in a statement. “These trends can make our government more efficient, with a potential $1 trillion in savings, and can empower agencies to provide faster, modern, more personalized services.”

Around $500 billion of savings could be achieved by using technology to improve supply-chain operations, while another $270 billion could be saved by preventing fraud and improper payments, the report said.

Big data analytics combined with cognitive computing could weed out a further $205 billion, while $100 billion could be recouped through the modernization of IT systems. Other measures mentioned by the report include utilizing shared services, improving energy use efficiency and protecting against cyber attacks.

It also recommends that the government appoint a chief information office to spearhead the transformation efforts.

“Advanced information technologies are providing dramatic competitive advantages to businesses in virtually every industry imaginable,” said Micron Technology CEO Mark Durcan, who also is chairman of the council. “Modernizing our infrastructure is critical to out future as a nation.”

The other report signatories include Akamai Technologies’ Tom Leighton, Qualcomm’s Steve Mollenkopf and Xerox’s Jeff Jacobson.