Federal IT spending to increase almost 4 percent in fiscal 2010

Government spending on information technology will grow nearly 4 percent, as agencies invest in software applications and services to enable transparency, accountability and modernize old computer systems, according to a federal IT research firm. Federal IT spending will grow from $73 billion in fiscal 2009 to $75.7 billion in fiscal 2010, Government Insights predicted in a report it released on Tuesday. Civilian agencies will account for 55 percent of total spending, or $41.8 billion, while the Defense Department will spend $33.9 billion on IT goods and services. "The overall bucket has increased," said Shawn McCarthy, research director for government vendor programs at Government Insights during a Tuesday Web conference to announce results of the report. During the last few years, civilian agencies have had sharper increases in IT spending than Defense, which has stabilized IT spending, and that trend should continue, he noted.