Most federal agencies report that cybersecurity, and hybrid cloud services are top priorities for allocation of budget and other resources. In fact, hybrid IT is on track to become the standard for enterprise IT and offer great benefits. However, organizations of all sizes also are experiencing new challenges from implementation of these popular IT services. This roundup also includes a look at the new federal budget priorities and how they may affect federal IT.
What You Need to Know About the President’s Budget…for Now
The proposed federal budget can serve as a planning tool for selling IT products and services to the government. While this first budget still must be approved, it outlines Administration priorities and could be a map for FY18 planning. If you sell into the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice and/or others that focus on defense and security, look for greater opportunities. If you sell into the non-defense side, you are likely to see flat or decreasing budgets. Since the proposal offers limited guidance around specific IT programs, your focus can be on making yourself a trusted partner and advisor. Also, early indicators show a preference for allowing attrition to reduce the federal workforce, and this also could translate into IT opportunities.
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Secretary General: NATO Adapting to New Security Environment
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) recently presented its annual report on the alliance. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that overall, members have dedicated $10 billion more to defense as they put in place budgets to meet the goal they agreed to at the Warsaw Summit. He also said that NATO is changing and adapting to today’s security environment and is ready to counter threats from the Islamic State of Iraq, among others. Stoltenberg also specifically talked about how NATO is addressing the growing threat of cyberattacks and said in 2016, NATO experts dealt with an average of 500 cyber incidents per month, which was a 60 percent increase on the previous year.
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Is Hybrid IT the New Normal in the Enterprise?
A survey of 1,500+ large organizations across the globe show that hybrid IT is on track to become the standard for enterprise IT footprints. According to the Success factors for managing hybrid IT report, other technology areas that have gained traction include containers, big data solutions, OpenStack for infrastructure as a service and private cloud, software-defined networking, and virtualized desktop infrastructure. The report also shows that enterprises are spending a significant portion of their IT budgets with third-party service providers on managed and professional services to free up IT staff to focus on other projects, to improve security and to provide specialized technical expertise, among others.
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New IT Trends Report Shows Majority of Public Sector IT Realizing Cost Benefits of Cloud; Still Challenged by Shifting Job Dynamics
North American public sector organizations have migrated critical applications and infrastructure into the cloud over the past year, according to the new SolarWinds IT Trends Report 2017: Portrait of a Hybrid IT Organization. Nearly 60 percent of respondents reported experiencing benefits, such as cost savings, from hybrid IT environments. However, they also are seeing an increase in the complexity of IT roles, challenges like a lack of visibility between on-premises and cloud infrastructure and the need to develop new skillsets to keep pace with changing environments. The study explores significant trends, developments, and movements related to and directly affecting IT and IT professionals and features insights from public sector IT practitioners, managers and directors.
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