U.S. government agencies will have tight IT budgets over the next 12 to 18 months, but opportunities for small IT vendors exist as many agencies divide up contracts into small chunks, IT and financial services representatives said Wednesday.

Officials in Marin County, California, decided on Tuesday to replace the county's ailing SAP ERP (enterprise resource planning) system, an option that would cost less than trying to fix widespread problems with the software, according to officials.