2007 proposal reflects OMB’s emphasis on blending tech into business processes
The message about IT the Bush administration sent with the fiscal 2007 budget request earlier this month reiterated its annual theme: Get results from the billions of dollars agencies spend on technology.
But the subtext, which also should become clear to agencies over the next year, is the importance of shifting from a focus on applications, systems or even technology to how IT is becoming a part of the overall business process—just like acquisition, finance and human resources.
The 2.8 percent increase in the overall IT budget to $64.2 billion—the smallest in the administration’s six spending submittals to Congress—reflects the changing times for technology.
“The shock-and-awe days of what technology can do are over,” said Jim Kendrick, president of the P2C2 Group Inc. of Kensington, Md., a consulting firm. “In a lot of ways, the budget parallels the trends in the private sector. Everyone is trying to reign in their costs—and not just in IT.”
Karen Evans, the Office of Management and Budget’s administrator for IT and e-government, said the budget represents the belief that IT is becoming more and more like a utility.
“Like your phone, where you pick it up and the dial tone is always there, you expect it to work,” she said. “If you want to improve services to citizens, CIOs can tell you how to use technology as an enabler and how to achieve an outcome.”
This does not mean the administration doesn’t see the value of IT. Just the opposite, experts said. The 2.8 percent IT budget increase is larger than the bump in overall discretionary spending. And while nearly every agency would see its overall budget drop or remain flat, IT budget lines at 21 of 25 agencies would increase by at least $1 million over 2006 levels.
At civilian agencies, the increase would be 5.1 percent; the Homeland Security Department would get the largest increase, $772 million, to $5.4 billion. Defense IT spending would jump only $103 million, or 0.3 percent.
Digg
De.licio.us
Slashdot
Technorati
