Any money earmarked for Year 2000 fixes that has not been spent still cannot go toward other investments such as data warehousing, analysts said. While many private-sector businesses may have been motivated by curiosity to invest in data warehousing, the federal government must have specific requirements to make such an investment. Oracle Corp. The government also has been forced to address data warehousing more slowly than private entities because of privacy and security issues. Data warehousing suppliers claim there also has been a drawn-out educational process for teaching potential federal clients about the need for data warehouses over traditional databases. Md. Despite the obstacles, users, analysts and suppliers maintain that the federal sector is poised to make a larger investment in data warehousing and business intelligence technologies over the next three to five years.
Federal customers require a longer sales cycle for data warehouses, drawn out by ongoing research.
Agencies also might be pushed toward data warehousing because of the Government Performance and Results Act, which strives to make government maximize profits and minimize costs - just like the private sector. Finally, analysts said an accelerated investment in data warehouses and business intelligence technologies will be prompted by the remarkable power of word of mouth. A few federal agencies report significant successes with data warehouses, which have allowed agencies to better analyze data, offer information to constituents and save money in the process. Still, the technology has not yet caught hold throughout government. Agencies' data warehousing efforts may have been hampered by agencies' focus on Year 2000 issues and by privacy and security concerns.