Government shutdownSerious IT consequences if shutdown lasts
The shutdown of the federal government, if it lasts no more than a week or so, will not seriously damage government IT operations, experts and industry insiders say. A longer shutdown, which would lead to extended furloughs for non-essential employees, will have more serious effects, as it will further depress the federal technology workforce and will deter top graduates from applying for government jobs. If Congress refuses to allow payment to furloughed employees for the time they were idled, the effect will be even more pernicious, these experts said.
The shutdown of the federal government, if it lasts no more than a week or so, will not seriously damage government IT operations, experts and industry insiders say.
A longer shutdown, which would lead to extended furloughs for non-essential employees, will have more serious effects, as it will further depress the federal technology workforce and will deter top graduates from applying for government jobs. If Congress refuses to allow payment to furloughed employees for the time they were idled, the effect will be even more pernicious, these experts said.
The government already has a tough time competing with the private sector for top IT talent.
NextGov reports that the experts say that if the shutdown lasts for two weeks, thus bumping into the debate over raising the U.S. debt ceiling, that will have catastrophic effects throughout government, in IT and elsewhere.
“If this is settled in a matter of days, the Web sites will spring back to life, people will start to text and e-mail again and business will return to normal,” Alan Balutis, former Commerce Department chief information officer, told NextGov. “If this lasts a week or two, begins to bump up against the debt ceiling and undermines the financial reputation and stability of the U.S., if it has effects on interest rates, that just dwarfs any effects on IT to the point they’re hardly worth talking about.”
“It really is a depressing thought that government presents today,” he added. “If you’re coming out of college and looking at where you might go to work, you’re less likely to take a job where you’re often underpaid to begin with, where you have little hope of getting a pay increase or bonus for good work and where there’s little investment in training and the board of directors that oversees your organization is constantly demeaning you.”
An IDC analysis, posted Tuesday, noted that most IT vendors will not be immediately affected by the shutdown because contractors typically receive monthly or quarterly payments, so they would not be affected by a shutdown of a few days.
“But if the shutdown drags on, defense contractors, especially IT systems integrators, could feel the pinch,” IDC research director Shawn McCarthy wrote in the analysis. “Many receive a high percentage of their business from the federal contracts.”
McCarthy notes that many IT systems are run by non-essential government employees who have been furloughed. These systems are still running, but might have to be shut down if they begin to malfunction and no one is available to fix them.
— Read more in Shutdown of the Federal Government: Causes, Processes, and Effects (Congressional Research Service, 25 September 2013); and Welcome to the Shutdown - No Need to Panic (Yet) (IDC, 1 October 2013)
