Budget uncertainty to impact government ICT spending: IDC

The government will likely be cautious about spending on ICT in the next 12 months, according to a report by IDC analysts.

The caution is driven by the government’s uncertainty about delivering a budget surplus of $1 billion in 2012/13 from a budget deficit of $44 billion in the previous period, IDC said.

"However, the government is committed to spend on new ICT projects with 30 per cent of the ICT budget allocated to drive expansionary spending as oppose to maintenance spending from the upgrades and renewals of existing products and services," said IDC analyst David So.

IDC predicted government spending on ICT will reach $6.48 billion in 2012 and increase to nearly $7.1 billion in 2015.

Australian government agencies still reaching for the cloud: Ovum

The government is looking to the cloud to deliver cost savings, IDC said. In October, the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) selected 35 suppliers to provide cloud services to multiple government agencies as part of a wider data centre strategy.

"The 35 vendors that were selected in the multi-use list for the government's Data Centre-as-a-Service (DCaaS) are well positioned to assist the government in achieving the A$1 billion cost savings from the procurement of cloud-based services,” said So.

In addition to cloud, the Australian government is “beginning to gain an appetite” for mobility, social and big data technologies, IDC said.

"These ICT growth pillars will not only significantly cut the costs of the government organisations but also will increase productivity and efficiency of the public servants,” said So. “These productivity improvements should align with its strategic priorities of delivering better service, engage openly and improve government operations.”

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