Federal Big Data Market Poised for Growth

Federal agencies continue to battle large influxes of data, particularly as the era of the Internet of Things and data-powered emerging technologies, such as AI, sets in. In addition to data collection methodologies and storage, agencies are prioritizing the strategic use of data to drive operations and produce evidence-based decisions. Recent data-centric policies are pressing agencies to improve federal data transparency and efficiency, ultimately driving investment in analytics and visualization tools. Moreover, agencies are taking several steps to build data science workforces, including reskilling current employees.

Despite this, challenges in information silos and promoting a data-driven culture remain within the federal space. New partnerships and sudden acquisitions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic vindicated existing gaps in federal data initiatives. As a result, real-time analysis and interoperability capabilities accelerated at federal health agencies.

In addition to the deficiencies highlighted by the pandemic, technologies such as high performance computing, artificial intelligence and quantum computing will drive near-term federal big data investments. R&D dollars in these technology spaces continue to rise, with increases in spending expected to advance their use across the federal government.

Deltek’s Federal Big Data Market, 2020-2022 report takes a deep dive look into these, and additional factors, driving federal demand in big data solutions and services.

Key Findings:

• Data-Centric Policies. Guidance provided by the Federal Data Strategy and Evidence Act is influencing agency, as well as government-wide, investment in data management tools to advance operational activities and improve customer service delivery.
• Chief Data Officers. The Chief Data Officer (CDO) role has expanded in recent years, helping drive data and analytics investments. Nevertheless, CDOs continue to combat challenges in securing sufficient resources and defining the role with department leadership.
• Research and Development. Research and Development (R&D) budgets related to big data continue to rise year over year, totaling $5.7B in FY 2021, $323M above FY 2020. High Performance Computing (HPC), quantum computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI) continue to lead investment dollars in big data R&D technologies.
• Expansion of Big Data Technologies. The onslaught of recent policies and agency interest in AI will likely press Congress to direct substantial funding toward advancing its use government-wide. Likewise, near-term investment in HPC is expected due to its enhanced role in the COVID-19 response, and the delivery of the nation’s first exascale systems.
• COVID-19 Impact on Big Data. The COVID-19 pandemic brought to light government’s health data collection, analysis and sharing inefficiencies, thereby slowing federal response efforts. As a result, the pandemic accelerated several data initiatives in the pipeline to enhance data collection, tagging, processing and movement.

Federal spending to leverage tools and services to identify, organize and share data assets results in a growing big data market. Deltek forecasts federal demand for commercial big data solutions and services will grow from $4.5 billion in FY 2020 to $5.8 billion in FY 2022 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.8%.

For additional insight into the federal big data environment, refer to Deltek’s Federal Big Data Market, 2020-2022 report.