MCLEAN, Va., June 28, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) FY2013 IT spending requests are roughly even with FY2012 levels, with budget drivers emphasizing commodity IT, mobility, and data center consolidation. The overall 2013 DHS budget request is just under $40 billion. The department's IT budget request is just over $5.75 billion; down from $5.79 billion in FY2012.
These financial statistics and technology trends were discussed at a DHS Market Intelligence Briefing hosted by immixGroup on June 19. 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.
While at $40 billion, the total budget request for DHS in FY2013 is significantly lower than in previous years. More cuts are expected in FY2014 — the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is requesting a 10 percent overall reduction in IT budgets across every agency.
According to Stephanie Sullivan, consultant with immixGroup's Market Intelligence group, DHS has the second largest IT budget within Civilian agencies, trailing only slightly behind Health and Human Services (HHS). "IT products are, and will continue to be, necessary to DHS's overall priorities of guarding against terror; securing borders; enforcing immigration laws; preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters; and unifying and maturing DHS," Sullivan said.
DHS's FY2013 budget drivers include commodity IT procurement, mobility, and data center consolidation all aimed at reducing costs and improving efficiency. DHS will also place emphasis on cloud computing. The agency plans to develop nine private cloud services for sensitive data and three public cloud services for non-sensitive data.
DHS is looking at a range of cloud-based services with mobile implications, including workplace as a service and e-mail as a service. Going forward, data will be maintained in DHS data centers, wrapped with mobile capabilities, enabling employees to work on a variety of devices with security architecture.
In the field of mobile communications, DHS plans to move from land mobile to a 4G network in next five years, enabling law enforcement applications such as on-demand video and biometric identification checks to work on smart phones and tablets.
This trend ties to another major priority at DHS: Improving information sharing and data integration to create a more rationalized IT infrastructure. Under the Data Center Consolidation Initiative, the DHS Office of the CIO has marked 43 data centers for closure, leaving two enterprise data centers remaining.
Looking across DHS on a sub-agency level, Customs and Border Protection has requested $1.518 billion in FY2013, down from $1.527 billion in FY2012. RFID, biometrics, advanced analytics, and rapid response are key drivers, as is a focus on the systems lifecycle to reduce operations and maintenance costs and ensure longevity of systems.
The Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) request of $769 million in FY2013 is up from $732 million in FY2012. TSA plans to increase remote capabilities, including the acquisition of Apple devices over the next three years, and migrate data centers to achieve a common enterprise infrastructure.
At U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, the FY2013 request is $724 million, down from $777 million in FY2012. Goals include improvements to the administration of immigration benefits, enhanced customer service, development of customized automated tools, and the replacement of outdated training applications with new technologies.
The National Protection and Programs Directorate has increased its request in FY2013 to $647 million, from $605 million in FY2012. The directorate plans to improve its investments in subcomponent IT, use DHS enterprise architecture to optimize ROI, and ensure compliance of its IT security programs.
Down significantly from its FY2012 budget level of $643 million, the U.S. Coast Guard has requested $573 million in FY2013. The Coast Guard is committed to doing "more with less," looking closely at infrastructure performance management and systems lifecycle management. Balancing its obligations to DHS and the Department of Defense is critical to the Coast Guard's success.
Industry has an important part to play in DHS's mission fulfillment, said immixGroup's Sullivan. "Technology companies and contractors must fully understand mission requirements and improve speed to market for new products that help meet these missions."
"Additionally, government is looking to its vendors and service providers to incorporate green technology solutions in product and system development, and to reduce operational support costs in the design phase," Sullivan said. "As the financial landscape shifts, the companies that help government achieve efficiencies by being more efficient themselves stand to win in the long run."
For complete information from the immixGroup DHS IT Budget Briefing, or to view an on-demand Webcast, visit www.immixgroup.com/dhs-webcast.
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.
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