Cloud computing, enhancing citizen engagement, cyber security, enterprise transformation, health IT, federal enterprise architecture, data center consolidation, workforce management, citizen dashboard and enterprise reporting, securing government systems, identity management, USA spending, Data.gov and the list of FY11 government priorities and initiatives goes on and on and on.
How can one single company provide expertise to address all government priorities and requirements?
It can’t. Nor would government want to rely on a single company. In FY11, the federal government will spend an estimated $79 billion on IT alone, which equates to more than 7,400 individual IT projects. And in 2014, US Federal government IT spend is forecasted to be $90.3 billion. These astonishing numbers simply validate that there are plenty of opportunities to go around for all of us who have a stake in providing IT products, services and expertise to government.
RightNow is the first to admit that we can’t do everything. We pride ourselves on being experts in customer experience (CX) and specifically helping government and other organizations “rid the world of bad experiences.” This is a very specific mission that allows us to remain focused on helping government enhance both employee and citizen engagement by providing the very best interactions through whatever channel customers want to engage, including the web, social and contact center.
What is missing from our mission? We do not claim to be experts in enterprise architecture, program management, change management, system integration, hardware, or functional domain expertise. For any solution, it takes the efforts of a partner ecosystems to help government organizations achieve their overall missions. As a result, we hosted the inaugural Government Partner Forum on August 17th in McLean, VA where we invited systems integrators, resellers, government contracting companies, and technology, hardware and software companies to share best practices and foster partnerships that will provide solutions, services and expertise to help government organizations deliver on their missions.
Washington Technology editor in chief Nick Wakeman kicked off the forum with insights into trends and opportunities for private sector to influence and support government initiatives. Nick addressed policy and procurement trends and technology developments that are reshaping the market. The extensive list of recurring priorities — such as enterprise transformation, social networking to improve citizen engagement, security, cloud computing, open government and improving transparency, energy and health IT — confirm that there are plenty of opportunities for government contractors to align expertise to relevant and current government requirements.
For more on Nick Wakeman’s view on the event, see his Business Beat blog post here.
