5 years ago…Vendors blamed for project failures

29.09.1999: IT managers are becoming increasingly frustrated by poor customer service from their suppliers - and are blaming them for project failures.

According to research by technical consultancy, Crew, 80 per cent of UK IT projects fail to meet their original requirements.

The report claims many suppliers are missing deadlines and budgets. Miles Hutton, business manager at Crew, said: "IT project managers are struggling in terms of managing their own resources and managing their suppliers.

"Technical project managers now expect suppliers to be one of their main problems. It's not always the supplier's fault, but they are trying to make money and are not always customer centric," Hutton explained.

29.09.2004: Who is to blame for IT project failures is still a contentious issue today. Just this week at the silicon.com CIO Forum in London, a live version of the CIO Jury debated whether the IT industry is failing UK plc.

Some strong arguments in favour of the motion were put forward by former CIO, author and broadcaster Rene Carayol who put the blame at the door of both the IT vendors and ineffective CIOs. He said: "How much are we spending on fixing what we bought in the first place? We're signing cheques because we feel we have to," he said. "When did you last come up with the business case that over-delivered?"

When it came to the final vote the CIO panel voted the IT industry 'not guilty', believing that the vendors can deliver huge cost savings and business transformation changes.

But another recent survey revealed that a quarter of IT buyers blame the vendors for selling them the wrong products.