While the shutdown challenges in the federal government over the past week have been top-of-mind, a recent Cisco survey has discovered that when operations resume, overall budget constraints are seen as the greatest challenge to government IT infrastructure, even ranking ahead of cyber attacks. This information was gathered through a third-party survey, the Cisco Connected Government Study, which was conducted last month by Clarus Research.

400 government IT decision makers (federal, state and local) were included, and the results show that reducing costs and increasing security continue to be top priorities for government IT decision makers. In the face of budget challenges, a majority (59%) of government IT decision makers said they are still likely to increase investment in cyber security over the next year, followed by cloud computing (45%) and networking (42%), according to a new Cisco Connected Government survey.

The survey also found that a majority of respondents thought government should increase spending in new technology for education, ranking it above new technology spending for healthcare, homeland security, emergency and disaster management, the military, and state and local law enforcement.

What this tells us is that with all of the important matters that need attention, when it comes to IT infrastructure, creating the best architecture with available resources that will allow public sector agencies to securely serve citizens will be key to achieving mission success.

Of concern for all of us is that the study also revealed that nearly half (47%) of these IT professionals believe the U.S. is falling behind other developed countries when it comes to the deployment of broadband. This speaks strongly to the need for strategic investment in our nation's information infrastructure to help bridge the digital divide, as well as in STEM-related programs, which will prepare our children to compete in the global marketplace, and ensure the U.S. remains a leader in technology and innovation.

Other Key Findings from the Survey include:

• 71% would rather be stuck in an elevator for 24 hours than have their network hacked
• 62% think most local and state police departments could more effectively use the latest law enforcement technologies to keep the public safe
• 58% of those who are familiar with software defined networking (SDN) believe it will become a viable solution sometime in the next few years

See the Cisco Connected Government Survey Overview for full details on the study.