In an era of economic downturn and budget cuts, even the Department Of Defense is not immune. Spending reductions are affecting everything from military health care coverage to warship construction. However, amongst the multi-billion dollar cuts across the security sector, there remains one area still enjoying a boom: information technology.
While other sectors are getting hit with cutbacks, the IT sector is expected to continue to do well in the foreseeable future. The reason for this rare growth sector is that even while reducing spending in other areas, America’s military services plan on continuing to upgrade and modernize their information technology infrastructures.
The numbers do not lie: the Department Of Defense requested slightly less than $40 billion in IT funding in 2012. In comparison, the entire federal government’s IT budget will be only $80 billion. In other words, next year the Pentagon’s IT budget will constitute 50% of all IT spending by federal agencies.
According to a new article in National Defense Magazine, the Department Of Defense’s large IT spending is motivated by advances in mobile technology like smartphones and tablets. Upgrading the Pentagon’s IT infrastructure is critical if military services are going to take advantage of the benefits these mobile devices can provide.
Another technology sector expected to receive a reprise from any federal budget reductions is cybersecurity. In fact, both civilian and Department Of Defense spending on cybersecurity related programs are expected to increase over the next five years.
The expansion of federal IT systems, combined with the increasing risk of criminal and foreign cyberattacks is the driving force behind the booming spending in cybersecurity. In recent years there has been numerous breaches of computer networks owned by the government. Furthermore, there are rumors of both China and North Korea building their own “digital armies” to wage clandestine cyberwar against US computer networks.
To counter these threats, the Department Of Defense has requested $8 billion for cybersecurity programs in the 2012 budget, increasing to more than $13 billion within four years. While the risks of digital threats might keep federal technology officers awake at night, it will no doubt be a windfall for cybersecurity workers.
Mike Jones is a researcher, writer, and analyst on national and international security. He lives in the DC area.
