New digital momentum for state and local governments

Editor’s Note: The following article and infographic were sponsored by HP and Intel.

The rising capital reserves of state and local governments, and a new generation of digital technology and applications are helping to spur a resurgence in public IT sector spending.

There are a host of factors contributing to the resurgence. Federal funds to states are expected to have increased 7.6 percent in fiscal year 2014, while state funds (excluding bonds) are estimated to have grown 4.8 percent, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers. Other estimates project average state tax collections will rise 7 percent in fiscal 2014.

Meanwhile, the ability to leverage shared services, through cloud and mobile technologies, is continuing to drive new economies into state and local technology operations. That combination of those two forces is expected to result in an estimated $94.5 billion in state and local government IT investment spending in fiscal 2014-2015.

Those investments are coming at a crucial time as state governments continue to deal with a rising tide of health and human services and public safety needs. By various estimates, it’s likely that hardware will consume 30 to 40 percent of that investment; software another 30 percent; and networking, communications and IT services will account for the rest.

How the technology will be used varies from state to state, but one recent report suggests that the state and local officials see shared services, cybersecurity and broadband connectivity among their top priorities. But IT offices will also be focusing on data center consolidation, and virtualization of servers, storage, applications and desktops.

Consumers will also likely start to feel the investments in the form of new services that unify communications and 911 services to the public. They’re also likely to see the expansion of applications making use of geospatial information that will make it easier for consumers and businesses to make smarter decisions.

Whether those investments pay off fully remains to be seen. With so many layers of technology and applications evolving so rapidly now, it will be more important than ever for state and local officials to make sure they have the talent on board to ensure they’re getting the right technology in place to support the transition to digital government services.