TechAmerica Foundation Spotlights Defense IT Priorities on Opening Day of 2014 Vision Federal Market Forecast Conference

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The opening day of TechAmerica Foundation's Vision Federal Market Forecast examined budget constraints and their implications for defense spending. TechAmerica Foundation's 50^th annual  Vision Federal Market Forecast Conference runs through the end of today at the Fairview Park Marriott in Falls Church, Va.

The economic and security outlook is impacted by new uncertainties, including the global economic outlook, the U.S. budget/deficit situation, potential future interest rate increases and ongoing Middle East and Ukrainian conflicts.  Taking these factors into account, the Vision Forecast expects slow global growth and a more complex security environment.

Attendees heard how the Department of Defense (DoD) is seeking ways to cut costs and still support its mission. Nevertheless, budget cuts are impacting staffing levels to contractor numbers, which complicates the ability for the IT industry to track opportunities. 

The DoD IT budget will decline in FY15 and FY16 but is expected to improve starting in FY17. When it comes to new technology, the DoD is focusing on cybersecurity, mobility, cloud and supporting applications with emerging growth in big data analytics.

To illustrate the constraints imposed by non-discretionary budget items, Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer Mike McCord noted during his luncheon keynote that the U.S. Medicare and Medicaid budget is larger than the defense budget.  Seeking to address challenging decisions around 1) compensation; 2) readiness of forces, i.e. training; 3) size of military; and 4) how much to modernize the military, McCord said the DoD is requesting moderate growth levels in budget.   

McCord emphasized that although fiscal talks tend to be challenging, opportunities still exist. Still, he stressed that budget problems are real and commented that  "the five years after these next five years will be a more challenging time. "Until there's some consensus, we will struggle with this uncertainty."

Earlier in the day, Assistant Secretary of Defense Katrina G. McFarland discussed the acquisition process, specifically Better Buying 3.0, noting how it emphasizes innovation and technical excellence while remaining focused on continual improvement.  She called on the IT industry to invest in research and development and STEM education to retain our global position in light of increased competition with respect to electronic warfare, counter defense capability and cyber.

Continuing the theme of investment in new technologies, Jaymie Durnan, senior advisor to the principal deputy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering, discussed the government's willingness to embrace technology. "Global R&D funding is changing rapidly with a decline in federal spending and an increase in commercial — these changes will affect our future.  The ability to globally project power depends on C4ISR (Command and Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance), space and distributed logistics," said Durnan.

The 50^th annual TechAmerica Foundation Vision Federal Market Forecast Conference provides a forum for the federal marketplace to obtain a concise, quantifiable assessment of the budgets, programs, priorities and issues transpiring in a rapidly changing environment. 

Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO of CompTIA, noted. "Government customers had the opportunity to express their current and future needs, enabling industry to understand and contribute. We continue to encourage greater government/industry communication and interchange on issues, technology, programs and other areas of mutual interest."

The conference continues today, focusing on civilian federal IT markets. To view the conference agenda, visit http://www.techamericafoundation.org/vision-agenda. Registration is available on-site, and a CD of the conference presentations is available at http://www.techamericafoundation.org/vision-cd. An overview of the media briefing on the Vision Forecast is available at http://www.slideshare.net/comptia/techamerica-foundation-vision-forecast-overview.  

About TechAmerica Foundation

Launched in 1981, the TechAmerica Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan affiliate of TechAmerica, the public sector and public advocacy department of CompTIA. The foundation disseminates award-winning industry, policy and market research covering topics such as U.S. competitiveness in a global economy, innovation in government, defense and federal IT forecasts, and technology employment and international trade indicators. It also organizes conferences and seminars, including the Vision Federal Market Forecast which was started originally by the Electronics Industry Association.

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SOURCE TechAmerica Foundation