Sequestration Could Shift Focus of Federal IT Spending

Originally posted to Federal Technology Insider http://federaltechnologyinsider.com/sequestration-could-shift-focus-of-federal-it-spending/

With an impending March 1 deadline set to trigger $85 billion in federal budget spending cuts, a recent InformationWeek article highlighted concerns raised by officials about the impact sequestration will have on federal IT expenditures.

“By cutting technology, it’s going to put us into situations where we either stagnate progress or have to rethink the delivery of things,” federal CIO Steven VanRoekel said in the article. “It puts us on our heels from a forward progress standpoint.”

Others note the cuts could result in a devastating impact to the government’s IT workforce.

Less workable hours for federal government employees could directly affect the ability and efficiency to launch and execute already fragile programs, said Stephanie Sullivan, a marketing intelligence consultant at immixGroup.

From a government contractor perspective, Sullivan notes the cuts reinforce the recent movement away from large programs toward more agile opportunities as well as incremental improvements. This trend also includes less money being spent on large system design activities with more emphasis on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) purchasing to supplement any federal workforce shortages.

What are your thoughts on sequestration and the impact it will have on the federal government’s IT efforts? How will your agency be impacted?