UK businesses are failing to
maximise the value of their IT investments, potentially wasting
£3.5bn a year, says consultancy KPMG.
Research among 125 IT decision workers, undertaken by
Information Age magazine and KPMG, shows that businesses are
routinely failing to maximise the
value of their investment in IT, potentially wasting up to
£3.5bn a year in the UK.
In the survey, respondents said nearly a third of IT projects
fail to deliver the expected business benefits, and almost half of
projects overrun. As a result, almost 90% believe that IT is not
delivering its maximum possible business value.
The research points to a lack of alignment between the IT agenda
and the overall business agenda, as a reason for the failure to
maximise value.
When asked if project planning was aligned to the business
agenda, 73% admitted that they do not have a stringent portfolio
planning and alignment process in place, with 32% indicating that
projects are decided on an ad-hoc basis with no overall
co-ordination between business and IT planning.
In addition, when making budgetary decisions, business
management fails to appreciate the dual mission of IT, of
supporting the business in day-to-day running, but also using IT to
change and drive the business.
Almost 80% of participants do not separate "change" and "run"
during their budget and planning discussions.
Richard Bhanap, head of IT strategy and performance at KPMG
Europe, said, "IT adds most value to the company when there is a
stringent planning process in place where business and IT
management jointly agree on investment priorities."