HERNDON, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–According to a new report from Deltek, federal information security spending is projected to increase over 5% per year while overall federal spending on information technology remains flat. Deltek’s new GovWin IQ report, Federal Information Security Market, 2015-2020, forecasts the federal demand for vendor-furnished information security products and services will increase from $8.6 billion in FY 2015 to $11.0 billion in 2020. As agencies struggle to stay ahead of the cybersecurity threats, more and more of their IT spend is being devoted to cybersecurity, reaching over 10% of IT spend by 2020.
Federal efforts to improve agency cybersecurity at all levels amid capability gaps and budget, personnel, and regulatory constraints will drive targeted spending increases. As agencies continue to retool IT environments with cloud, mobility, and infrastructure solutions, strategies for addressing information security gaps with advanced processes, services, skillsets, and tools will drive investment strategies.
Ninety-two percent of government respondents to a Deltek survey conducted for this report ranked cybersecurity as the top IT spending priority, easily surpassing initiatives like cloud computing and mobility, which require robust security themselves. Security vulnerabilities span a wide spectrum of needs. “The threat environment continues to underscore the imperative of shoring up defenses and advancing current capabilities,” said John Slye, Advisory Research Analyst for Deltek. “On one end of the spectrum, agencies are likely to continue to invest in new technologies to improve situational awareness through network monitoring and security analytics. At the other end, there’s an ongoing need to address and maintain basic cyber hygiene.”
Some other notable findings in the report include:
- The volume and variety of cyber-threats challenges government organizations to harden the security of the increasingly complex IT environments that they are managing today. Agencies will continue to rely on industry for the expertise needed to get and stay ahead of the security curve.
- Challenges meeting security workforce goals with skilled personnel internally will sustain demand for contracted services. Offensive cyber solutions and other areas deemed ‘inherently governmental’ will continue to trim contractor addressability.
- Federal policies will continue to embed cybersecurity into IT acquisitions and management strategies, shaping acquisition guidelines, contract types, and solicitations.
Deltek’s Federal Information Security Market, 2015-2020 report explores trends in security spending and highlights major product and service categories, preferred contracting approaches, and small business utilization. “Federal information security remains a highly ‘people-based’ market, with spending on security services outpacing product spending,” said Kyra Fussell, Principal Analyst for Deltek. “Contractors that can provide highly experienced personnel will continue to be in demand.”
The report also provides a five-year forecast for five major information security segments: Security Operations Services; Governance, Strategy and Compliance; Security Tools and Appliances; Identity and Access Management (IAM) Technology and Support; and Training, Education and Awareness.