According to a new report from Deltek, federal IT security spending will continue to grow despite a relatively flat IT market. Given the growth in scope and sophistication of diverse and persistent threats, security is at the top of most agencies' priority lists.
Deltek's GovWin IQ Federal Information Security Market, 2016-2021 report predicts spending growing from $9.3 billion in FY 2016 to $12.0 billion in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.3 percent.
The complexity of agency IT environments, the vulnerabilities and challenges of hardening legacy systems, and the breadth of cyber-threats continues to challenge progress in increasing federal cybersecurity, the report noted. Agencies will continue to look to rely heavily on industry for assistance with a broad scope of solutions and services.
According to the report:
• Growing Market. Although federal spending on IT in general continues to remain effectively flat over the forecast period, cybersecurity spending growth is strong. Strengthening cybersecurity remains at the top of the priority list for federal agencies.
• Modernization Fuels Demand. Beyond security-specific activities, implementations of cloud, big data, and mobility solutions, as well as infrastructure modernization efforts, will provide growth opportunities as these efforts provide opportunities for agencies to rethink and strengthen cybersecurity.
• Tying Cyber to Warfighting. Defense organizations are struggling with strategies to integrate cyber operations with warfighting operations. The goal is not only to ensure the security of traditional domain tools and tactics, but to incorporate offensive and defensive cybersecurity capabilities into operational engagements.
• Skill Demand. The need for skilled operators will sustain demand for contracted services, especially in the civilian sector. However, the Department of Defense (DoD) deterrent or offensive cyber capabilities and "inherently governmental" areas limit addressability.
• Security by Design. Government-wide policies addressing IT acquisitions and management continue to insert greater cybersecurity requirements into nearly every aspect of the federal IT acquisitions and management lifecycles.