May 2009

Major government-wide IT initiatives planned include cloud computing, collaboration, and government transparency.
By J. Nicholas Hoover

The federal government plans to spend $75.8 billion on information technology in 2010, a 7.2% increase over expected IT spending this year. However, that increase isn't set in stone.

The government is making major shifts in how it spends money on IT, and costs could either come down or go up as a result. Among the major new government-wide IT initiatives are cloud computing, collaboration, and government transparency, all of which will require some initial costs. However, federal CIO Vivek Kundra also is looking at ways to "rationalize" federal IT spending, as he told InformationWeek in a recent interview.

"New directions for federal information technology in 2009, as well as final determinations on investments funded in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, mean that estimates for spending on IT systems over 2009-2010 will likely change as firm plans are made to address the administration's goals of greater openness in government, wider participation of citizens in government, and a more collaborative, cost-effective federal IT enterprise," says a supplemental document to the Obama administration's 2010 budget.

With these significant initiatives under way, the federal government also plans to introduce "new oversight approaches" to make sure federal IT spending is effective. These policies will require improved early strategic planning and early announcement of architecture and design requirements in federal IT projects, as well as new ways for Kundra to step in and cancel or overhaul projects that aren't making the grade.

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