Cloud computing, virtualization, open source poised for big gains

Analyst firm identifies five technologies that will see huge growth in U.S. government adoption, largely driven by efforts to contain costs

ive technologies, including the trendy cloud computing and old workhorse open-source software, will see huge adoption increases in the U.S. government over the next five years, largely driven by efforts to contain costs, according to an analyst firm.

In addition to cloud computing and open-source software, other technologies that will be hot in the U.S. government through 2014 include virtualization, service-oriented architecture, and geospatial technologies, said Input, an analysis and consulting firm focused on government contracting.

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Input expects the U.S. government's technology spending to grow at about 3.5 percent a year from 2009 to 2014, said Deniece Peterson, manager of marketing analysis at Input.

However, cloud computing spending is expected to grow by 27 percent a year, from $370 million in 2009 to $1.2 billion in 2014, Input said.

Virtualization spending will grow by 12 percent a year, from $800 million to $1.4 billion, and open-source software will grow by 8 percent a year, from $290 million to $430 million, Input said.

The federal service-oriented architecture market will increase from $330 million to $660 million, an annual growth rate of 17 percent, and geospatial technology will increase from $860 million to $1.4 billion, an annual increase of 8 percent, Input projected.

U.S. President Barack Obama's administration is pushing cloud computing as a way to cut spending on new hardware and software and to reduce energy costs. That focus on cloud computing, and on cost cutting, will drive adoption in the other technologies on Input's list, Peterson said.

With Obama's administration pushing cloud computing, "something is going to happen," she said. "The question is, to what degree?"

The push for virtualization will be driven by an emphasis on energy efficiency and lowering hardware costs, Peterson said. And agencies will look to streamline their infrastructure using virtualization technologies as a way to take advantage of the benefits offered by cloud computing, she added.