The cultural divide between the IT department and the rest of the business is frequently cited as the main cause of IT project failures, and countless attempts have been made to increase understanding between the two spheres. But according to one expert, part of the answer may simply lie in where IT directors seat their staff.

Speaking exclusively to IT Week, Stephen Agar-Hutty, chief executive of managed services firm Preferred International and a former IT director, said that where IT departments are physically located plays a key role in their interaction with the business.

Agar-Hutty added that many IT departments do not realise this and are often placed in a single location, cut off from the users they are employed to support. "As much as possible the IT department should be [physically] situated among the business [users]," he said. "You can't go too far, as the IT department needs to still feel like a team, but there are real benefits to ensuring IT professionals are not working at a desk in some separate ivory tower."

Physically situating IT staff alongside business staff increases co-operation and understanding between the two groups, according to Agar-Hutty. "It encourages users and IT professionals to see each other as colleagues, rather than service provider and customer," he said. "It also increases the chance of successful projects because the business becomes more aware of what IT can realistically deliver, and IT better understands what users need."

Agar-Hutty also recommended that large firms employ IT relationship managers within each of their departments to better articulate to the IT department what users require. "They should be IT literate, but they should also have expertise in a certain department, be it HR or marketing or sales, so the IT department has guidance on what users in each sphere of the business actually need," he said.