MCLEAN, Va., Oct. 21, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Although continuing resolutions and ongoing budget cuts will have an impact, most federal IT spending requests are slightly ahead of 2011 levels, with buying trends expected to emphasize telework/mobile computing, cloud computing/virtualization, and cybersecurity. The 2012 Federal IT budget request is approximately $80.9 billion, of which 52 percent is civilian and 48 percent is defense. In 2011, the IT budget was $78.8 billion.
These financial statistics and technology trends were unveiled at a Federal IT FY2012 Budget Briefing hosted by immixGroup on October 20. immixGroup's Market Intelligence organization, which prepared the content of the briefing, provides actionable information that helps commercial technology manufacturers, resellers, and solution providers identify relevant opportunities to do business with the Federal government.
Despite slight increases in IT budget requests almost across the board on the civilian side, the primary budget driver is cost savings. Agencies are emphasizing value measurement, process improvement, elimination of redundancy and duplication, and the adoption of new technologies to improve operations.
"There's a lot of perceived doom and gloom around federal budgets this year," said Doug Gaines, Director of Market Intelligence for immixGroup. "But we think agency IT budgets will be impacted less than overall budgets. And commercial technology products are critical to achieving the efficiencies and cost savings demanded by government agencies that still have missions to fulfill."
Teleworking and mobile computing are among the most important new initiatives being considered by the federal government. Mobile Internet and email use will surpass desktop Internet and email use by 2014, briefing findings revealed.
Civilian agencies are phasing out bulky legacy systems and adopting more nimble, user-friendly applications to simplify telework, which can increase productivity and decrease energy costs. According to budget briefing findings, the US Patent and Trademark Office claims some $20 million in real estate savings over the past 10 years because of telework.
Cloud computing and virtualization also are emerging trends in federal IT spending, with $20 billion of the proposed $80 billion budget potentially targeted to cloud computing migration. Some 75 percent of civilian agencies are expected to be utilizing cloud technology in some capacity by the end of 2012.
In part because significant risks are associated with mobile computing and cloud-based applications, cybersecurity will continue to top federal IT technology trends, briefing findings indicate. Government-wide, agencies are beginning to integrate security systems into mobile and cloud-based infrastructures. Agencies will first develop risk-aware missions and business processes, followed by enterprise architecture with embedded security, and then implement continuous monitoring programs.
On the Department of Defense (DoD) side, debt ceiling legislation calls for $2.4 trillion in specific spending cuts over the next 10 years. This can be seen in budget requests such as those from the Department of the Army. While funding for Army IT programs is expected to increase by 13 percent (to $8.754 billion in 2012), the total Army budget for 2012 is $216 billion, versus $245B in 2011 – a reduction of approximately 11 percent.
A major theme influencing IT spending is the changing role of Federal Chief Information Officers. In August 2011, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memo broadening the role of agency CIOs from policymaking and infrastructure maintenance, to true IT portfolio management– including governance, commodity IT, program management, and information security. This will enable CIOs to overcome bureaucratic impediments to deliver enterprise-wide solutions.
The August appointment of Steven VanRoekel as Federal CIO means a continued focus on the OMB 25 Point IT Reform Plan spearheaded by former federal CIO Vivek Kundra. VanRoekel can be expected to carry the "cloud first" initiative in the IT reform plan, with a goal of moving 20 percent of the federal IT enterprise to the cloud by 2015.
Data Center Consolidation efforts also will be key across federal agencies. The Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative (FDCCI) promotes Green IT by reducing the overall energy and real estate footprint of government data centers. The initiative also reduces the cost of data center hardware, software and operations, improves overall federal IT security and increases the use of more efficient computing platforms and technologies.
"Our message for product vendors and solution providers is 'do your homework,'" added Gaines. "Money will continue to be spent and requirements will be formed where the needs are most critical. If an agency is telling you there's no money to spend, you probably haven't delivered the right message to the right prospect."
For complete information from the immixGroup Federal IT Budget Briefing, or to view an on-demand Webcast, visit www.immixgroup.com/civbriefing for the Civilian briefing and www.immixgroup.com/dodbriefing for the DoD briefing.
Press Contact:
Allan Rubin
Vice President, Marketing
immixGroup, Inc.
703.752.0658
allan_rubin@immixgroup.com
About immixGroup, Inc.
immixGroup helps technology companies do business with the government. The company's four divisions deliver a unique combination of services for software and hardware manufacturers, their channel partners, and government agencies at the federal, state, and local levels. Since 1997, immixGroup has helped hundreds of large and emerging companies grow and manage their public sector business while providing its government customers with reliable access to leading commercial technologies through the contract vehicles and partners they prefer. For more information, contact immixGroup, Inc. at 703.752.0610, via email at info@immixgroup.com, or on the Web at www.immixgroup.com.
immixGroup's Market Intelligence organization provides actionable information on public sector sales opportunities for technology manufacturers, resellers, and solution providers. For more information, visit www.immixgroup.com/for-manufacturers/additional-services/market-intelligence/.
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| [Image] | immixGroup FY12 Federal Budget Briefing |