Compliance test aims to tackle IT cock-ups

The UK IT industry has renewed attempts to tackle a poor track record on government IT projects by beefing up its code of practice with new compliance guidelines that allow customers to assess vendors' performance.

The compliance mechanism is an addition to the existing code of best practice, which was launched back in December 2003 to help tackle the worrying number of government IT failures and includes "Ten Commitments" for suppliers of IT systems and services to the UK government.

John Higgins, director general of IT supplier body Intellect, said the IT industry is committed to maintaining the pace of reform, improving the relationship between government and industry, and ensuring value for money for the British taxpayer.

"The new compliance mechanism is another step forward in reforming supplier and customer behaviour. It raises the bar and established new benchmarks," he said in a statement.

John Oughton, CEO of government procurement watchdog the Office of Government Commerce, said he is confident the new guidelines will have a positive impact on the delivery of government IT projects.

Intellect claims 50 suppliers have adopted the code of best practice to date, including Accenture, Atos Origin, BT, EDS, Fujitsu Services, LogicaCMG, Microsoft, Siemens Business Services and Xansa.