Report: Expect 38 percent hike in e-gov spending

Even with efforts to consolidate software purchases and limit agencies’ IT budgets, e-government spending will grow 38 percent to nearly $6 billion over the next five years, according to a report from Input.The Reston, Va., market research organization released its Federal E-Government Marketview report this month and cited Bush administration mandates as the driving factor for the increase.“In the near term, it makes sense for e-government spending to grow based on the Office of Management and Budget’s budget numbers,” said Chris Campbell, a senior analyst for Input. “The e-government initiatives have been slow to reach their goals, and agencies will be spending to meet those goals.”Input also estimated that spending on government-to-business projects will more than triple, from $15 million in fiscal 2004 to $52 million this year.Meanwhile, software spending will grow from $680 million last year to $968 million in 2009, the report said. This comes on the heels of the General Services Administration’s announcement that it is negotiating with the three largest federal software vendors on enterprise deals that would drive down the cost of the software by as much as 82 percent.