A report from Gartner has revealed that global government IT spending will reach a total of $589.8 billion in 2023, an increase of 7.6% from 2022. 

“Global challenges like inflation and workforce scarcity and their local repercussions are testing the abilities of government CIOs to respond with appropriate service delivery mechanisms and organizational accountability,” Gartner Principal Analyst Apeksha Kaushik said. 

“In addition, the “great resignation” and the competing demand from the commercial sector have forced governments to re-examine their approaches to counterbalance internal talent scarcity.” 

Government entities will continue their dedication to investing in digital initiatives throughout 2023, a growing trend among governments to allocate a significant portion of their IT budgets towards replacing outdated software systems.  

The software sector is expected to maintain its remarkable growth in 2023. Investments in application modernization will receive strong support, thanks to the increasing availability of software-as-a-service solutions.  

Furthermore, global government IT spending will persist without any signs of slowing down throughout 2023. 

“Compensation constraints and limited resources to attract and retain IT talent are becoming an even bigger challenge today as many governments are facing IT talent shortage,” Kaushik said. 

Related: Federal Budget invests $2B for digital solutions and cyber security

To drive modernization and innovation in vital IT infrastructure and applications, government organizations are expected to adopt a multisource workforce approach.  

This strategy involves optimizing the utilization of internal IT talent, investing in tools to enhance the employee experience and encourage innovation, and collaborating with external IT service providers to expedite value delivery. 

Governments will also persist in investing in projects aimed at enhancing access to digital services throughout 2023, as constituents increasingly expect experiences comparable to those offered by online businesses. 

However, despite the priority placed on digital transformation, some government CIOs have expressed that they are not fully reaping the maximum benefits from their digital investments. 

“Government CIOs who are moving beyond scaling digital solutions across their critical services are ensuring that further investment in digital solutions can directly impact how they achieve the mission or public purpose of their organization,” Kaushik said. 

Eliza Sayon

Website | + posts

Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.

• Developing an effective data ecosystem
• The journey of building an ecosystem through data
• NZ government strengthens data privacy laws against third parties
• eSafety Commissioner issues legal notice against Twitter