Defense projects top 2010 federal IT wish list

A number of agency information technology initiatives get a funding boost in the proposed 2010 federal budget, according to Input, a federal marketing and government business analysis company.

A preliminary analysis by Input’s Industry Analysis team of federal IT spending growth finds the top 10 IT spending increases for FY 2010 are led by the Veterans Affairs Department (20 percent), Commerce Department (5.9 percent) and Defense Department (3.4 percent).

“Despite the anticipated belt-tightening under the Obama administration, technology opportunities will emerge in FY2010,” the Input analysis said. It suggested that contractors focus on a few key areas:

VA is one of the fastest growing departments in terms of IT budgets. As it struggles with overloads in claims processing and systems associated with supporting returning warfighters, VA will continue to invest in technology to enable it to keep up with increasing demands.

Development, Modernization, Enhancement – While money still flows to sustain current operations, there are some pockets of opportunity in new development and enhancements. Contractors should continue to track DME dollars to identify new programs or partnering opportunities as well as to understand how agency DME may change their current technology environments.

Operations and Maintenance for stimulus follow-on – Some recovery-related initiatives, such as the Social Security Administration’s National Computer Center and the Homeland Security Department’s headquarters consolidation, will require ongoing support and maintenance beyond the stimulus effort. Contractors that begin to consider how to position themselves for that work now will be ahead of the game.

The top IT DOD budget requests as enumerated by Input are:

• $355.8 million for the Air Force’s Expeditionary Combat Support System, for commercial enterprise resource planning and other solutions to replace legacy logistics and procurement information.

• $1 billion for the Army’s Warfighter Information Network – Mobile, tactical communications system for delivering video, data, imagery, and voice services. The next stage will develop a satellite-based on-the-move network capability.

• $25.1 million for DOD’s Enterprise Business System to replace several legacy business applications supporting the current supply chain management for Cataloging, Ordering, Receiving, Inventory Management and Promotions.

• $236.8 million for the Navy’s Next Generation Enterprise Network to provide net-centric data and services to Navy and Marine personnel.