Public sector takes lead on IT projects

Public sector IT projects are unjustly regarded as poor and prone to failure, research shows.

Project failures within the public sector are simply more likely to come to light compared to those in the private sector because of their accountability obligations, according to research conducted by Benchmark Research on behalf services firm Steria.

And the private sector could learn a thing or two from the public sector, says Steria director Lynda Chambers.

'The public sector doesn't celebrate the success of its IT projects,' Chambers said. 'We are not in any way saying that the private sector is a failure, because it's not; it's very good. But the public sector is a lot better than they think they are.'

Steria is ultimately looking to publish a set of best practice guidelines that will transcend both sectors to maximise the likelihood of successful implementations, but has concluded in the process that the public sector manages projects better than its private sector counterparts.

When it comes to measuring project success some 53 per cent of public organisations implement formal measurement systems compared to just 32 per cent in the private sector.

And cost is less of an IT driver for the public sector with 36 per cent of organisations looking for financial savings, compared to 36 per cent in the public sector.

'Public sector organisations will go through from the start and look to measure benefits and value for money,' Chambers said. 'The public sector has a base line from which they can go forward.'

Chambers also believes total cost of ownership considerations are key to successful IT projects, and points out that 60 per cent of the public sector regard TCO as important compared to 40 per cent of private businesses.

Customer satisfaction is also important with 58 per cent of public sector organisations taking it into consideration compared to 51 per cent in the private sector.