News
Government IT trends in 2010
IT spending, investment and innovation in government is one of the striking trends we came across while researching our Keating Report 2010 forecast on government budgets, spending and technology.
The federal ARRA stimulus package is likely to have an impact in 2010, says Autodesk Government's Infrastructure Industry Manager Richard Humphrey. "Stimulus spending forecasts indicate that much of the money for infrastructure still has not been spent, and we expect 2010's spending to be an even bigger shot in the arm for the design and construction industry working with government," Humphrey says. "'Shovel ready' projects, primarily those involving water and transportation, will require new design work to ensure cities and counties are building for the future."
Humphrey added: "According to the IDC research organization, world total IT spending by government will increase 3.9 percent (average is 3.2 percent) from 2009 to 2010."
San Rafael, Calif.-based Autodesk is a developer of 2D and 3D design software for manufacturing, building, construction and engineering.
Among federal government IT decision makers, meanwhile, more than four out of five expect to replace or install new hardware in 2010, according to "CDW IT Monitor" findings. The "CDW IT Monitor" is based on an online survey of at least 1,000 IT decision makers from all sectors of government as well as businesses of all sizes. The federal government IT decision makers polled also see fewer staff reductions occurring in 2010.
CDW, based in Vernon Hills Ill., provides technology products and services for government, education and business.
IT security spending in government in 2010 should also show gains, according to the 7th annual Global State of Information Security Survey 2010. More than half (56 percent) of public sector respondents expect spending to either increase or stay the same.
"The increased risk environment has elevated the role and importance of the security function," says Scott McIntyre, partner and leader of PricewaterhouseCoopers' Public Sector Advisory practice.
More than 7,200 CEOs, CFOs, CIOs and other executives responsible for their organization's IT and security investments took part in the survey. New York-based PricewaterhouseCoopers and CIO and CSO magazines conducted the survey.
Based on the survey results, Scott recommends that public sector organizations "plan for cyber disasters or crises just as they plan for natural disasters. Know what actions your government agency needs to take in a cyber crisis, who to call for help, and how to keep the organization running, and minimize damage/loss to critical data and systems."
On the subject of IT security, "In 2010, both the military and civilian agencies will continue to demand technologies that improve security management, ensure compliance with major government regulations, strengthen the network perimeter and reduce costs," Jody Brazil told GovPro.com. Brazil is president and CTO of Secure Passage, an Overland Park, Kan., company that provides firewall management solution FireMon.
"When it comes to compliance, firewall management technologies will continue to be in high demand, as firewalls play a key role. As an example, the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Critical Security Controls require government agencies to secure configurations for network devices such as firewalls, routers, and switches," Brazil said.
Open source tools also are coming to the forefront, says John Punzak, senior national sales director for State & Local Government/Education at Raleigh, N.C.-based Red Hat. "The most obvious sign of the times is how many states are going through 'mid-year' budget reductions," Punzak says. "The revenue projections they made last spring (and based their 09-10 budgets upon) were more optimistic than reality. So, now we're seeing state and local governments being more frugal with their budgets and aware about how, where and when they spend their money. Open source solutions have emerged as high-value options for state and local IT departments on many fronts, and more are looking at virtualization and cloud computing as options to help extend value, as well."
