Krouse said the decrease was not dramatic in terms of overall Schedule 70 sales, which still account for 8 percent to 10 percent of total federal IT spending. While overall federal IT spending is increasing, Krouse expects the rate of growth will be lower than it has been in the last few years.

Input also believes that more significant growth could come from cooperative purchasing agreements with state and local government agencies, Krouse said. State and local purchasing through GSA Schedule 70 is already increasing significantly, with $192 million spent in fiscal 2005, approximately twice what was spent in the year before, he said.

'If state and local spending follows a trend similar to that of federal agencies over the past 10 years, GSA Schedule 70 could become a significant centralizing force for the public sector IT market,' Krouse said.