The outlook for government IT spending in 2014

Government Product News reached out to Van Ristau, chief technology officer of Herndon, Va.-based DLT Solutions, to find out about trends in IT spending and technology acquisition in local and state governments. Here are Ristau’s views. 

Government Product News: Do you see increased IT spending in 2014 among local and state governments?

Van Ristau (in picture at right): Yes, we anticipate an overall increase of perhaps 1percent to 3 percent, and slightly higher for software. There are several reasons for this. An upward trend in U.S. GDP over the past four quarters is giving state & local governments more confidence in projecting and budgeting greater tax revenues. The federal budget deal agreed to by Congress and the administration for federal fiscal years 2014 and 2015 also helps state and local governments by helping them to better anticipate federal funding support for programs and projects. Lastly, there is a need to continue to follow through on IT infrastructure maintenance and enhancements postponed during the recession years. 

GPN: What activities are local and state governments focusing on — cloud services, data center consolidation — any other areas that DLT sees?

VR: In addition to consolidation and cloud services, which are both top of mind for larger state & local IT organizations, we see governments recognizing the need to improve overall, enterprise information security. At the same time, governments must accommodate and manage the proliferation of mobile devices, which are being leveraged for innovative internal and citizen-facing applications in the public sector. Those mobile devices come with their own special security and management challenges.

GPN: Do you have any advice for local and state government IT managers who are looking to upgrade their jurisdiction’s IT operations in 2014?

VR: Yes…Meet with line of business managers face to face and get their input to ensure that you develop a plan for where you intend to be in 1, 2 and 3 years that supports their objectives. Get their buy-in to your final plan and make sure that they understand both the benefits to them and also the negative impact of any changes to your budget. Obtain unbiased professional help in developing your plan and cost estimates if necessary.

GPN: What services and products can DLT provide to state and local governments?

VR: Some specific examples include public cloud and hybrid cloud services and applications, mapping software and geospatial fusion servers used in property tax management as well as transportation planning and monitoring. DLT also offers student administration solutions for K-12 and higher education, cybersecurity solutions for both the enterprise and for mobile device management. We provide fleet management and route planning solutions, and smart grid management and security solutions for locally owned utilities.

For more than 20 years, DLT Solutions has served as a government IT reseller. The firm serves federal, state, local government and education customers. Go here for information on DLT’s state and local government work.

Some of DLT Solutions’ partners include Amazon Web Services, Autodesk, Google, NetApp, Oracle, Dell Software, Red Hat, Solarwinds and Symantec. DLT is a provider of technical support, through its government contracts.  The company specializes in the following solution areas — Cloud Computing, Data Center Consolidation, Geospatial Data Systems and Computer-Aided Design for Transportation, Utilities and Manufacturing. 

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