How federal agencies are shifting IT investment strategies

When it comes to mission critical operations and the IT that supports them, federal government IT officials and influencers see a compelling return on investment for a hybrid IT model, according to a new FedScoop research study.

According to respondents in the survey, 75% agree that establishing a hybrid IT environment — both on-prem and in the cloud — offers the best ROI over the next three to five years. 

Read the full report.

The survey, “The Hybrid Cloud Debate,” produced by FedScoop and underwritten by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, asked 212 IT decision makers from federal civilian, defense and intelligence agencies — plus system integrators — about their post-pandemic IT strategies and priorities. 

Among the findings, 76% of respondents agree that modernizing or upgrading their existing data center operations offers the best ROI over the next three to five years. But nearly as many also agree that moving existing data center operations to a federally-authorized cloud (68%), or to a dedicated private cloud platform (64%) — also offer strong returns on IT investments over that time frame as well.

While agencies differ on what mix of cloud and on-prem structure works best, respondents indicate their agencies are committed to a hybrid model. Looking ahead two years from now, fully 41% of respondents — a reduction from 50% currently — expect their agencies will devote 70% or more of IT spending to on-prem infrastructure, applications and IT services. 

“When considering aspects of on-prem versus cloud, how the data is secure in transit and at rest always needs to be the leading decision factor,” shared Scott Cassady, sales director for U.S. public sector PointNext Services at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, after an initial review of the report’s findings. 

The study examines the biggest motivators and challenges that small, medium and large agencies face in pursuing pay-on-demand, or IT-as-a-service solutions in managing their IT operations. IT gauges current perceptions about the costs of moving data in and out of cloud platforms and whether agencies believe they have the requisite skills to develop and maintain a hybrid cloud environment.

Fortunately for federal agencies, a shortage of in-house IT skills agencies familiar with how to build and operate a hybrid cloud environment appears not to be as dire a concern as it once was.

“Today, agencies can leverage cloud — either on- or off-premises — where refactoring and recoding is never a requirement to be operational,” said Cassady.

The study concludes with suggestions on what agencies should consider as they continue to build out their hybrid IT environments.

Download the report, “The Hybrid Cloud Debate” to read more about what agency leaders are considering as they create their hybrid IT strategies.

This article was produced by FedScoop and sponsored by Hewlett Packard Enterprise.