More than 40% of executives from small and medium-sized
businesses say they have wasted money on an IT investment.
Thirty-two per cent claimed to have been sold the wrong product by
a supplier, in a survey published this month.
The main reasons given by directors were that they did not have a
clear understanding of what the business required from IT. They
also experienced unexpected problems when integrating
systems.
Of the 3,080 companies surveyed by financial software supplier
Sage, 41% said they had received poor customer service from their
supplier.
Some 44% of SMEs with more than 100 employees said they had wasted
money on IT, with 46% citing loss of staff hours because of
problems with technology.
Paul Stobart, UK managing director of Sage, said, "Some of the
findings are surprising. Historically the [IT industry] has not
done enough [to ensure products can work together]. There is a
sense we should stop trying to sell tomorrow's dream and sell more
pragmatically."
He said SMEs should be clear about what they want from IT when
dealing with suppliers.
Peter Scargill, national IT chairman of the Federation of Small
Businesses, said the research showed the need for SMEs to invest
more in IT staff training.
"You can split the blame between suppliers and companies, but
companies expect too much from too little investment in the IT
skills of their staff," he said.
IT is the third most pressing issue after financial and legal
issues for seeking external advice, but businesses are unlikely to
turn to a supplier for help, the research found. A third of
respondents said friends, family and colleagues were the main
sources of advice.