Why Federal Agencies Won't Take Up the Internet of Things Anytime Soon

Public spending on sensor technology might be up, but Internet of things enthusiasts shouldn’t get too excited about a futuristic, hyperconnected government. Without top-down strategies for using networks of devices and embedded sensors, federal adoption “will likely remain low,” a new report from the Center for Data Innovation suggests.

Other barriers include a lack of funding and general risk aversion in government buying. The technology is slowly gaining traction in the federal market — the government spent $8.8 billion on the Internet of things in fiscal 2015, up 20 percent from fiscal 2014, according to a report from big data and analytics firm Govini. It has also garnered congressional attention: A bipartisan group of senators last year passed a resolution calling for a national strategy for the internet of things that would outline how it could boost the domestic economy. But no federal agencies have their own broad plans for using that network, according to a report compiled by the Center for Data Innovation, a division of Washington think tank the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. No agency, CDI found, "addresses how it will use the Internet of things in its strategic plan.”