The government has warned the IT industry that it must deliver on its promises or it will lose out on long-term deals. Peter Gershon, chief executive of Whitehall buying arm the Office of Government Commerce, says the government is taking steps to address its shortcomings as a client, but the industry is yet to match its efforts.
'There is little visible evidence that the IT industry accepts that it too has weaknesses that need to be addressed through a sustained improvement programme,' he told delegates at an Institute of Economic Affairs conference this week.
Without such improvements, long-term 'partnering relationships' will no longer be an option, says Gershon.
'The Public Accounts Committee currently starts from the view that partnering is a na‹ve public sector client taken for a ride by a supplier where the winner is not the taxpayer,' he said.
The IT industry tends to over-commit and under-deliver, says Gershon.
'My observation at the moment is that large swathes of private sector clients are voting with their pockets - their investments have not been delivering value for money so when times are hard they are not putting their money in IT.'
Quelle Computing
