Obama plans to cut military IT budget

President Barack Obama recently released his proposed budget plan for 2013, calling for significant cuts to spending across all sectors, including information technology. The proposal plans to slash IT expenditure for the U.S. Department of Defense by 3.6 percent, to $37.2 billion, down from $38.6 billion. Cutting defense IT spending could increase job opportunities in the private sector, so IT professionals should seek out IT training programs to make sure they are qualified for the new positions.

"DOD will see large reductions across the board, and is preparing for those changes by investing in more agile and innovative IT," federal CIO Steven VanRoekel said during a call with reporters. "We're encouraged by DOD's commitment to do more with less and are sure that they will be able to continue to perform at a high level."

Cuts to the DOD will be made possible through consolidation efforts and advanced technology implementation. The Pentagon, for example, could save $300 million in 2013 from data center consolidation, and the military could slash $4.1 billion over the next five years with more efficient IT programs, InformationWeek reported.

Many IT professionals and investors could profit from these budgetary cuts. In a piece for Money Morning, Michael Robinson, a defense and technology specialist, said General Dynamics and Force Protection merged together and are now working on building the nation's main battle tank for the DOD.

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