The Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice have tripled their spending on equipment and services related to the Internet of Things (IoT) over the past six years, spending $600 million on the smart security industry, a new study by contracting intelligence firm Govini finds.Spending on software applications and cloud increased the most between fiscal year 2015 and 2016, up 39.8 percent and 34.5 percent, reports GCN, while spending on border security and port-of-entry devices declined 6.8 percent across the same time period. Given the implications of Trump’s cyber-security executive order, federal investment in cloud services and companies like Amazon and Google are expected to accelerate in the coming months.
GCN reported Govini CEO and Director Eric Gillespie said that there “is a risk of throwing people at our problems versus using technology” and emphasized that while a border wall or more Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents may be a feel-good measure, the government needs to invest in cloud-based solutions or risk “losing the battle.”
“If you look at the priorities of the new administration and where IT will have a significant impact, data drives a lot of the impact,†GCN reported Govini CEO and Director Eric Gillespie said. “We took a taxonomic approach to look at the past several years of actual IoT spending … to create a view of the market that is empirical, accurate and reflects what has actually happened and where to be prognostic.â€
Their approach reflects three areas of investments: foundational investments, consisting of border security and ports of entry; transactional investments, dealing with data collectors and network connectivity; and transformational investments in the cloud, software applications and cyber end-point defense, reported GCN.
The Govini study was released at the May 10 Law Enforcement and Public Safety Technology Forum hosted by the Bethesda, Md., chapter of Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association.
