Government Futures In The News

By Jason Miller
FCW, February 18, 2008

When President Bush issued a classified cybersecurity directive early last month, he reversed 21 years of policy that had prevented the Defense Department and the National Security Agency from having oversight of civilian agency networks. Bruce McConnell, who was at OMB for 15 years and was chief of the information policy and technology branch for many years, testified before Congress last week that the classified directive could have a potentially chilling effect on the free flow of information between government and citizens. more...

Candidates should recognize change is hard

By Florence Olsen
FCW, January 9, 2008

On important issues such as immigration, health care and government reform, the leading presidential candidates are talking the talk, but they aren’t walking the walk, Government Futures reported today. “There is little evidence that they understand what it will take to solve these problems in a time frame that’s acceptable to the American people,” said Bruce McConnell, former chief of information technology policy at the Office of Management and Budget and president of Government Futures. more...

Protecting Personal Data

By Jill Aitoro
Government Executive, December 1, 2007

Pressure to protect personal information is growing, especially in light of the need to shore up public trust in government. Eroding confidence could undermine and even undercut many programs, says Bruce McConnell, former OMB IT policy chief and president of Washington consulting firm Government Futures. "Our tax system assumes that most people report honestly, as do social benefit programs and even the census, [so] we don't have to spend that much on compliance," he says. "Privacy breaches undermine that trust. There's a cumulative, chilling effect that will cost us all in the long run. IT managers have a real civic responsibility in this area." more...

Executive Spotlight with Bruce McConnell

Potomac Executive Biz

In the 08/02/2007 edition of ExecutiveBiz we had a chance to catch up with Bruce McConnell, President of Government Futures. Bruce McConnell is President of Government Futures, a Washington-based consultancy. Since 2000, McConnell has been the President of McConnell International, which provides advice to corporate senior management responsible for developing and executing market and sector strategy, when government is a factor. We catch up with Bruce on why he is involved with Web 2.0, social networking, and what agencies have staked out space in Second Life. more...

Government Behind SaaS Curve

By Eydie Cubarrubia

Red Herring, May 24, 2007

On-demand software isn’t so hot in the government sec

Two surveys released Thursday showed that more than a third of respondents were slightly or not at all familiar with the emerging software-as-a-service business model. Furthermore, a plurality of survey respondents said Internet-based software will be used by government agencies only in “small niche” areas.

The surveys, conducted by GCN (Government Computing News), a government information technology news publication, and Government Futures, a government industry research firm, should serve as a warning that the SaaS sector cannot afford to rest on its laurels. more...

SaaS, a burning mystery to many

By Rutrell Yasin

GCN, May 21 2007

Software as a service may be catching fire as a software delivery model, but it's still a foreign term to many people. A recent survey of government and industry insiders by GCN and Government Futures found that many respondents are unfamiliar with the practice of SaaS. And even those who said they were familiar with it sometimes disagreed on its strengths and weaknesses, and on whether common perceptions about SaaS are true or false. more...

Firm predicts tripling of public health network by 2012
By Paul McCloskey
Government Health IT, April 24, 2007

The number of states capable of sharing information related to pandemics and other health threats on a national scale will triple in the next five years, according to a forecast to be released today by Government Futures, a government market research firm. more...

Research Report Finds Threat to Public Health Speeds Collaboration

Government Technology, April 24, 2007

A report was released today which asserts that protecting the public health will be an early example of "Government 2.0" -- government that is mission-oriented, networked, collaborative, agile and results-driven. The Web 2.0 analysis firm Government Futures released the report entitled "Public Health 2.0: Spreading like a Virus." more...

Where is IPv6 Going?
Interview with Executive Biz
April 5, 2007

"It will be like Napster, not just for music, but for all things virtual and real. Napster’s peer-to-peer music sharing was the beginning of a major transformation in the music industry’s business model. Similarly, when remote sensors, intelligence machines, and humans are connecting on a peer-to-peer level, many existing models will become unsustainable. Collaboration will rule." more...

Web 2.0: Second verse, different than the first
By Corinna Wu, Special to GCN
GCN, March 19, 2007

[Examples] of the federal government’s move to embrace a new generation of technologies that fall under the banner of Web 2.0, a catchphrase for a collection of tools that, among other things, encourage a high level of social interactivity and collaboration.

The demographics of the federal workforce are also changing. “People who are coming into work now, their default mode is to share and collaborate,” McConnell said, “while the default mode of the people who are leaving is to do your own work and try to make sure you get credit for it.” more...

Federal Agencies At Crossroads On Tech Procurement
By Aliya Silverstein
Technology Daily, January 2, 2007

By 2012, government agencies will be able to buy laptops, PDAs and other technology items as quickly and cheaply as the best Fortune 500 companies, while making transactions transparent to taxpayers, according to some government and industry procurement executives.

Both sides of the fence say it would be desirable for government to adopt commercial buying practices such as constant dialogue, flexible contracting and quick competition among preferred vendors rather than government-unique practices, said Bruce McConnell, president of the research group Government Futures and the author of a new report on government procurement trends.

Survey: Agencies lag in procurement practices
By Kimberly Palmer
Government Executive January 2, 2007

Government is lagging behind best procurement practices in private industry, according to a new survey by a Washington-based consulting firm.

...Unlike other reports that have reached similar conclusions, this survey also asked 100 government and industry leaders to predict the future. Respondents said they believed that by 2012, most agencies would rely on close relationships with select buyers for commodity purchases and that at least half of federal agencies would have adopted strategic sourcing techniques. more...

Survey finds support for commercial procurement practices
By David Hubler
Federal Computer Week, December 20, 2006

With the federal government spending about $400 billion annually for goods and services, agencies should rapidly adopt commercially accepted procurement practices to meet their needs more efficiently and productively.

That is the conclusion of a new report from Government Futures, a research and consulting firm that analyzes trends in government technology and services.

The survey report, “Procurement at the Crossroads, What Should You Do?” states that federal procurement is at a crossroads of change that could lead to progress

or stagnation. The report adds that the ability of agencies to cost-effectively support their missions and $400 billion in projected expenditures is at stake... more...

Outsourcing: Its time may have finally come

By Nick Wakeman, Editor
Washington Technology News November 13, 2006

... In her story, Gerin also cites a report from new consulting firm Government Futures Inc., founded by former Office of Management and Budget official Bruce McConnell.

The report predicts that typical IT spending will drop by between 10 percent and 25 percent by 2010. In that same time, it said, mission support services will grow by double digits.

Even if the report, based on a survey of government and industry officials, is only half right, the IT contracting industry is facing a watershed event. To survive, companies need to look beyond selling networks and services and instead focus on mission and results. more...

Beyond IT

By Roseanne Gerin, Staff Writer
Washington Technology News 11/13/2006

... A recent report by consulting firm Government Futures Inc. said that U.S. government spending on IT infrastructure and applications support, the usual market for IT contractors, will decrease between 10 percent and 25 percent by 2010.

The company’s survey of more than 130 government and industry officials indicated that as this spending falls, departments’ and agencies’ will put more money into mission support services. Funding for human resources, financial management and logistics will see growth in the double digits. more...

Forecast predicts shift in IT spending
By Wyatt Kash, GCN Staff
Government Computer News, October 20, 2006

Government spending for information technology may drop as much 10 to 25 percent over the next 36 months, as agencies shift their spending priorities toward an increasing portion of mission- and business-related services, a new government forecasting group announced late last week.

A variety of forces are converging that “will disrupt the relationship between government and the (IT) industry that surrounds it,” said Bruce McConnell, president and co-founder of the group, called Government Futures.

Those forces include tighter budgets, project complexity, technology changes, and demographics, which are contributing to a wave of retirements among experienced federal IT workers. more...

New firm asks, 'What does the future hold?

By Nick Wakeman, Editor
Washington Technology News 10/24/2006

No one has a crystal ball, but with collective intelligence tools, you can come pretty close — or at least that is what Bruce McConnell, Margaret Anderson and Gordon Haight are hoping for.

The trio has launched Government Futures Inc., a company that will use a variety of collective intelligence tools to help predict where the government will be three years and further into the future. Collective intelligence tools draw on the input of multitudes of people to make better decisions... more...

Report: Traditional IT work is shrinking
By Nick Wakeman, Editor
Washington Technology News 10/27/2006

There’s good news and bad news ahead in the government market

The good news is that the overall pool of funds available to contractors is getting larger, according to a report by the new market research firm Government Futures.

But the bad news is that the portion of spending that IT contractors traditionally chase — infrastructure and application support — will shrink by 10 percent to 25 percent by 2010. more...

Government IT spending to drop, new firm predicts.
Government Futures relies on the "collective intelligence" of online participation and community to issue its reports.
By Grant Gross, IDG News Service
InfoWorld 10/27/2006

A new analysis firm using the "collective intelligence" of the government contracting community has predicted a 10 percent to 25 percent drop in U.S. government IT spending in the next three years.

Government Futures, using lessons from the open-source software and online wiki communities, launched Friday with its first report, saying that U.S. government IT spending will drop in the coming years because of federal budget constraints, voter skepticism about government effectiveness and new technologies that enable cross-agency collaboration.

Other reasons for the predicted drop in spending: There will be a shift in government buying power from agency chief information officers to people in charge of programs and missions, and the government will attempt to shift the risks in IT projects to the private sector, Government Futures said. The U.S. government spends about $60 billion a year on IT.

Successful government contractors will focus on providing specialized services to U.S. agencies, including better ways to interact with constituents or collecting debts, said Bruce McConnell, president of Government Futures and former IT policy chief at the U.S. White House's Office of Management and Budget... more...

Study forecasts downturn in IT Spending
By Anne Laurent
GovExec.com 10/30/06

Agency spending on information technology products and services will fall 10 percent to 25 percent over the next three years, according to a report released Friday by a consulting firm launched the same day.

The report, "Government 2.0" also predicted double-digit growth in dollars going to companies that will directly support or even take over government programs. It was published by Government Futures, a strategy and consulting company founded by a team led by federal market insider Bruce McConnell and is based in part on a survey of 130 executives in federal agencies and firms selling to government, academics and other observers.

McConnell ran IT technology policy for the Clinton administration and in 2000 formed McConnell International, a Washington-based consultancy advising companies selling to the government... more...

US Federal IT Spending to Drop by 10 to 25%, says Analysis Firm
SDA India 10/30/2006

10 to 25% drop in the federal government information technology budget in the next 36 months is predicted by a report. Entitled 'Government 2.0: Are you Ready?’ Other changes highlighted in the report include a shift in buying power from CIOs to program and mission owners, and a substantial transfer of project risk to the private sector. more...