I think this is *one* of many reasons why they are doing it, and frankly it solves a short term problem in exchange for a longer term one. The reality is that the storage costs for data follow a Moore-like decline over time, even as data explodes. So the long term cost for doing what they do would be, at best, less than inflation, which means while it provides a significant one-time boost in spending, in the end it becomes a reason to cut spending.
I think there is a far more obvious upside for budget discussions. If you’re about to go before Congress to justify your budget, wouldn’t *you* want to have a comprehensive history of all digital communications of everyone involved in the process, their family, their friends, and their staff? It’d be great both for understanding how to position yourself as well as the always popular blackmail scenario. It’d be great even if you *never looked at it*.
I think this is *one* of many reasons why they are doing it, and frankly it solves a short term problem in exchange for a longer term one. The reality is that the storage costs for data follow a Moore-like decline over time, even as data explodes. So the long term cost for doing what they do would be, at best, less than inflation, which means while it provides a significant one-time boost in spending, in the end it becomes a reason to cut spending.
I think there is a far more obvious upside for budget discussions. If you’re about to go before Congress to justify your budget, wouldn’t *you* want to have a comprehensive history of all digital communications of everyone involved in the process, their family, their friends, and their staff? It’d be great both for understanding how to position yourself as well as the always popular blackmail scenario. It’d be great even if you *never looked at it*.