Big data is all the rage now, but don’t expect government spending frenzy
July 2, 2012
Three years ago, cloud computing was generating all of the hype in information technology. Now the spotlight is on “big data,” a term used to describe the exploding volume of data accumulated by federal agencies.
Despite the attention, big data spending within the federal government is likely to be limited at first and probably will not pick up until cloud computing is more established.
Private industry has already realized the value in the collections of data stored on their servers. This data can tell companies what their customers have bought, and what they might buy again, particularly if a targeted marketing campaign reaches them at the right time…
Now, federal agencies are finding that the data they accumulate can help them better serve citizens and more effectively carry out their missions.
To encourage federal agencies to make use of that data, the White House earlier this year established a big data initiative. Still, that doesn’t mean all federal agencies are well versed in the advanced analytics and storage capabilities needed to truly make use of the information.
In fact, an agency’s big data readiness is most likely linked to its cloud readiness.
A cloud-ready agency has an integrated IT infrastructure that lives in a virtualized data center, giving it expandable and modernized storage space. Those same capabilities enable big data tools.
Given the government’s struggle to make the most of cloud computing, Deltek analysts suspect the growth of the big data market for the federal government over the next five years will be slower than many anticipate. We expect to see considerable market research and a few small buys but few major purchases.
The transition to cloud computing has been a muddled affair, filled with multiple adoption paths, service delivery models and types of deployment. It’s getting better, but it’s taken time.
Big data will likely follow the same winding path. Until 2015 to 2017, most agencies will be consumed with data center consolidation and creating their cloud environments. Only after this will they be able to approach big data with confidence.