WashingtonExec 2013 Government Contracting Outlook Series:
The new year brings big changes for the Federal IT industry, and WashingtonExec is back with its Government Contracting Industry Outlook Series.
We are giving local executives the opportunity to share their thoughts on where they see our industry headed this year and beyond. Leaders were asked a series of questions focused on cloud computing, healthcare IT, defense, mobility, and more.
Robert F. Brammer is President and CEO of Brammer Technology, LLC, and he spoke with us about what he sees ahead for 2013. We chatted with Brammer last fall; check out the interview here.
“There will be significant and growing collaboration between industry and government in many dimensions related to big data and associated areas of information technology management. This collaboration will take many forms in diverse industries and different levels of government. Even in budget-constrained times, there are many reasons for addressing big data challenges as part of an overall information systems strategy. According to an IDC market study released this month, the global market for big data will grow at more than 30% per year during 2012-2016 to nearly $25B. Effective collaboration between government and industry can lead to important aspects of this growth and can stimulate important new developments in critical national priorities like economic development, effective government, healthcare, cybersecurity, counter-terrorism, and climate change.
Last year saw many new big data initiatives involving industry and government. In March, the White House announced “the Big Data Research and Development Initiative.” This announcement described new research opportunities in six different federal agencies with funding at $200M. There were also activities by state governments. For example, in May, the Massachusetts governor announced the “Massachusetts Big Data Initiative” that includes a matching program for research grants, student internships, and collaboration between the governor’s council and industry to explore ways for using data and analytics to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations. We should see results from these initiatives over the next few years.
Federal agencies have many mechanisms to stimulate the development of new businesses. These include SBIR programs, technology transfer programs, and new venture organizations like In-Q-Tel and Devinci. Some well-known big data companies like Cloudera and Cleversafe have received investments in these programs, and there are many more businesses now in development as part of these programs. Additionally, some agencies including parts of HHS and the intelligence community are exploring new market mechanisms including app stores to help to stimulate new market ecosystems.
However, there are other collaboration mechanisms in addition to government funding. For example, some government agencies like the National Weather Service, the Census Bureau, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and many others provide industry access to their large databases. Many companies provide commercial value-added information services based on this data. These activities will continue to grow as these databases and analytic technologies continue to develop.
Finally, there are many consortia with both industry and government members that address areas related to aspects of big data. Organizations such as the Cloud Security Alliance, the Partnership for Public Service, TechAmerica, and the Internet2 Consortium include hundreds of institutional members and have working groups addressing critical topics like performance, security, and privacy.”
