Federal information technology professionals are confronted with a management landscape that is perhaps as complex as any have seen in a generation.
That’s due in part to the convergence of three transformational technologies – cloud computing, mobile devices and big data analytics. The benefits of each technology are generally expected to outweigh many of the associated challenges of implementing them.
But according to a new government-wide study, those decisions must also be balanced against escalating cybersecurity threats, as well as a combination of new budget constraints and shifting administration priorities, making the task of managing and integrating new technologies extremely difficult.
“Government’s challenge is two-fold, adopting transformational technologies to help reduce operating costs while also keeping systems and data safe,” said Rick Johnson, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions.
That was borne out in the findings in a new study released today by a consortium of 18 leading technology providers, known as the Lockheed Martin Cyber Security Alliance.
Polled on which initiatives were the top priorities for their agencies, 85% of 203 pre-qualified government IT decision makers named cybersecurity a high priority for their agency, compared to 39% who see mobile computing as a high priority, followed by 27% mentioning big data and 26% mention cloud computing.
The study’s authors suggested that the high level of priority for cybersecurity reflects the fact that while agencies are actively implementing initiatives involving cloud computing, mobile devices and big data, all of them pose security risks and challenges to their agencies.
The study, the third in a series of annual studies to be released by the alliance, is based on interviews with 103 decision makers from federal civilian agencies, 60 from the Department of Defense and intelligence agencies and 40 from state and local governments.
Among the study’s major conclusions:
Integration is the preferred approach… The majority of study participants agree that an integrated approach to implementing cloud computing, big data solutions, and mobile initiatives would greatly benefit their agency, according to 63% of those surveyed; and contribute to a more economical and affordable approach to sharing and storing information, said 70% of those polled. An integrated solution would mean coordinating and optimizing all segments of the implementation, including virtualization, network, computer/servers, storage, and applications, with security inherently built into each layer as well as around the entire architecture.
…but integration is unlikely to happen. With government IT facing an “austerity environment,” the study said it is unlikely that many agencies will be in a position to pursue complementary programs that can integrate solutions that maximize the potential of these technologies to change government. Agencies, as a result, will likely need to seek partners willing to accept the fiscal constraints.
Cloud computing models are becoming more diverse. Federal community clouds, where two or more agencies share a cloud, are anticipated to be used by 52% of IT professionals, while 42% expect to use private clouds dedicated to their agency or department. Hybrid clouds, which are comprised of some public areas and others which are private, are anticipated by 21% of government IT professionals.
Cybersecurity awareness is rising in a complex environment. Greater dependence on IT systems to deliver services has increased government IT professionals’ use of security resources – from NIST, ISO 27002, FedRAMP, Apps.gov, the Cyber Security Alliance, and others. Agencies are increasingly aware of just how multifaceted cyber threats have become – and are growing increasingly prepared to defend against them.
The study also concluded that cloud computing, mobility, and big data present very different challenges to organizations.
The promise of cloud computing, “when implemented well is effectively invisible to the vast majority of government employees,” the study noted, while mobility, “is enticing because it has the potential to radically change how government workers do their jobs.”
Almost seven out of 10 study participants (69%) believe that mobile device management is about security of the devices.
Three-quarters of government IT professionals believe that secure cloud computing is possible and that their agency is well equipped to deal with cyber threats. That may be a reflection, the study said, on the fact that three-quarters of government IT professionals also say they already have made significant investments in cyber security, even though many have yet to adopt cloud computing, implement mobile technologies, or start on big data projects.
Of the three, big data might be considered the wild card.
“It has the potential to inject an almost entrepreneurial spirit into the government, as both public and private sectors look to build new models of performance based on information that has been locked away in vast quantities of raw data,” concluded the study, which was conducted by Market Connections, Inc.
The Cyber Alliance was established in 2009 and announced with the opening of Lockheed Martin’s NexGen Cyber Innovation and Technology Center.
The Alliance focuses on cyber security challenges through innovation and collaboration, and includes amongs its member companies: APC by Schneider Electric, ArcSight, CA, Cisco, Citrix, Dell, EMC Corporation and its RSA Security Division, HP, Intel, Juniper Networks, McAfee, Microsoft, NetApp, Symantec, Trustwave, Verizon and VMware.