57% of Federal IT Leaders Feel Infrastructure Overwhelmed by Increasing Data Volumes

99% of Federal IT decision-makers say their agencies have put a greater emphasis on leveraging data to drive decision-making and achieve mission goals in the past year, according to the Federal Data Maturity Report: Optimizing Storage, Operations, and Insights.

This study from MeriTalk, in collaboration with Hitachi Vantara Federal, examines storage, infrastructure challenges, modern storage solutions adoption, and insights within Federal agencies.

The report surveyed 150 Federal IT decision-makers and sheds light on the challenges and opportunities facing agencies as they navigate the complex landscape of data management in an era of exponential data growth and technological advancement. The report reveals that while Federal agencies increasingly prioritize data-driven decision-making, data maturity levels still lag, with just 41% of respondents describing their data management as “advanced” and less than 1/3 rating their organization’s ability to use data-driven insights an “A“

Over half of Federal IT leaders express concerns about their current data infrastructure’s ability to cope with increasing data volumes, with 62% worried about scalability issues in the future. Complexities, security vulnerabilities, and outdated technology are cited as the top infrastructure challenges, underscoring the urgent need for modernization efforts.

“The more that data collection continues to grow exponentially, so will the need for optimizing storage, operations, and extracting actionable insights,” said Gary Hix, CTO, Hitachi Vantara Federal. “These things are no longer optional. They are mission-critical imperatives and it’s eye-opening for this research to provide a clear roadmap reflecting those facts.“

Federal IT decision-makers have high expectations of their storage transformation and future technological advancements. The top 3 prioritization for storage and operations are upgrading storage infrastructure, investing in advanced analytics tools, and enhancing cybersecurity measures to optimize data operations. 63% say the integration of modern data capabilities will heavily impact their organization’s ability to forecast and plan for future challenges over the next 3 years.

The report uncovers actionable recommendations for Federal agencies, including upgrading storage infrastructure by investing in solutions that provide agility, scalability, resiliency, and integration with emerging capabilities like AI/ML as they work to keep pace with escalating data volumes and rapidly evolving technology needs. Agencies should also boost data security and resilience measures by implementing robust access controls, encryption, automated threat detection, and backup and recovery capabilities to maximize resilience, according to the report.

The report is based on a survey of 150 Federal IT decision-makers conducted in March and April 2024. The quantitative research has a margin of error of ±6.93% at a 95% confidence level.