Rooting out insider threats among DHS' top priorities, execs say.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew

* The Department of Homeland Security's information technology needs in 2014 will be driven by trends such as big data analytics, the ubiquity of mobile devices and a new emphasis on finding insider threats, executives who work closely with DHS say.

Cloud computing, social media and the need for more cybersecurity are other trends that will fuel FT acquisition in the department, said Tony Celeste, director of U.S. civilian agencies at Brocade, which provides network services.

The department needs to take advantage of these trends in a time when its budgets are being scrutinized heavily, he said.

Like the Defense Department, DHS is in the process of consolidating data centers to save funding and create efficiencies.

Its new Data Center 1 and Data Center 2 complexes are intended to provide services to the 22 component agencies.

"Not all 22 are taking advantage of this, but they are rapidly starting to adapt and move applications into this world instead of doing their own," Celeste said.

The relatively new department brought networks from its almost two dozen legacy agencies into the mix, and work will continue at making them more efficient, he said.

Market research the company has carried out shows that 79 percent of federal IT managers believe that forces such as thin-client mobile devices, cloud computing and cybersecurity needs will place larger burdens on their networks. An almost equal percentage of respondents said they don't have the capacity to handle it, Celeste said.

"The traditional networking infrastructure with its hierarchies are not capable of supporting today's requirements and future requirements that are going to be placed on the network," he said.

Brocade is offering two products, ethernet fabric and software defined networks that are intended to "flatten out networks" so they are less dependant on hardware such as switches, routers and controllers.

Paul Christman, vice president of...