Gartner: Global government IT spend revised down

Mobility, IT modernisation and cloud top of 2013 agenda, with big data and analytics creeping higher

Global government IT spend has been revised downward for 2013, as continuing weak economic growth around the world takes its toll.

But mobility, IT modernisation and cloud computing are the top three focus areas for investment this year, with interest in professional services and big data continuing to grow.

According to Gartner’s latest figures, worldwide IT spending by government organisations is set to reach $449.5bn (£287.8bn) this year, a slight decrease of 0.1 per cent from 2012. The forecast includes spending on hardware, software, IT services and telecoms.

Christine Arcaris, research director at Gartner, said in a statement: “Cloud computing, in particular, continues to increase compared with prior years, driven by economic conditions and a shift from capital expenditure to operational expenditure, as well as potentially more important factors such as faster deployment and reduced risk.

“Other areas, such as datacentre consolidation, are lower on the list than in previous years, perhaps demonstrating that they may have met resistance in a more strategic roll-out. Vendors should be ready to reposition offerings according to these changing market dynamics.”

According to a survey -- User Survey Analysis: IT Spending Priorities in Government, Worldwide, 2013 -- by Gartner across 13 countries including the UK, US, Australia, Brazil and China, respondents reported they are adopting public and private cloud-based services at an increasing rate, with 30-50 per cent of organisations planning for, or having an active IT services contract within the next 12 months.

Although the initial focus was on SaaS implementation, future rollouts will include IaaS and PaaS. The growing importance of mobility also emerged through the survey, with demand the strongest in government agencies with more decentralised staff and those that have a large field workforce or specialised needs that benefit from mobile investments.

BYOD also important

Gartner’s figures also showed that momentum is building for BYOD programmes, with 52 per cent of those questioned saying employees are allowed to bring their own smartphones to work, and 50 per cent use their own laptops. A further 38 per cent use their own tablets.

In addition there was growing interest in big data and analytics as the focus continues on government efficiency and effectiveness.

Arcaris added: “Government organisations have increased big data spending for improper payment systems, indicating the desire to tackle fraud, waste and abuse within agencies, as well as target upfront errors in revenue collection.

“While agencies are assessing how to manage, leverage and store big data, not many have addressed the challenges associated with the use of content and the issues associated with merging large amounts of data onto a single platform.”