ID Management is hot in 2007

Information technology innovations and architectures will drive changes in government business and IT investment decisions.

Global independent research and advisory firm, Government Insights, an IDC company, releases today a new report anticipating Western European Government Top 10 Predictions for 2007.

The government market is the second-largest vertical industry in Western Europe for technology spending, with $45 billion targeted for 2007. With a $2 billion increase in technology investments from 2006 and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) projected at 4.8% between 2007 and 2010, this is both a high-value and high-growth industry that is typically less volatile than many other IT industry markets. Regional and local government segments will be the fastest-growing segments.

Government organizations need to focus on defining and justifying the right technology solutions predicated on increased confidence that successful program implementation optimizes government performance and creates maximum value for its mission- says Massimiliano Claps, Program Manager for Government Insights -Government buyers must look for both new technologies and applications of existing technologies to apply across the full life cycle of lines of business and services that accommodate multiple organizations and layers of governments.

In response to these key market drivers, government organizations are pursuing strategies and changing behavior to maximize IT investment values and adapt to the constraints and opportunities they present. Predictions 1 to 5 are common to government organizations worldwide, and predictions 6 to 10 represent trends across levels of government ó central, federal, state, regional, and local ó in Western Europe:

- Prediction #1 ó Government will pursue standardization and consolidation.

- Prediction #2 ó Information sharing and interoperability will drive improved government service delivery.

- Prediction #3 ó Government will create new procurement models and strategic sourcing strategies.

- Prediction #4 ó Government will adopt broader use of metrics.

- Prediction #5 ó IT program success will be based on value to mission and the bottom line

- Prediction #6 ó Western European governments will grow investment in smart cards and other identity management tools.

- Prediction #7 ó Multijurisdictional collaboration and governance models will increase in public security across EU borders

- Prediction #8 ó Information technology innovations and architectures will drive changes in government business and IT investment decisions.

- Prediction #9 ó EU area of influence will grow broader and deeper

- Prediction #10 ó Regional and local government segments will drive total Western Europe IT government spending

This report also includes recommendations for IT vendors targeting the Western European Government and actions to consider for Governments.

For more information or to obtain a copy of this report, Western European Government 2007 Top 10 Predictions, by Massimiliano Claps, Silvia Piai, Gabriella Cattaneo and Thom Rhubel (Government Insights #GIPP01P, Jan 2007), please contact sales@idc.com.