Life in the workplace is an ongoing battle with computer problems. When some programme or other doesn’t work, the temptation is to throw the computer out the window.
The information technology union, Celkee Oy, and The Finnish Software Entrepreneurs Association recently published a study that uses some pretty strong wording. More than a third of those ordering data systems are unhappy with what they get. They feel that too many things go wrong – particularly with regards to the price, the timetable for the project or its quality.
Don't play it too safe
Experienced IT consultant Ahti Haukilehto of Sovelto Oy says that this is because the municipalities and the public sector are overcautious. If a municipality orders a large data system, they demand that a detailed contract is drawn up. The goal is that no errors be made, the project doesn’t make the headlines, the successful bidder’s competitors do not challenge the customer’s market rights and everything goes according to a smooth, ideal model.
“An IT-company can’t be utilised in the proper way, but should provide what is ordered – even in a situation where you see that the system can not be made or function with those specs or under that definition,” says Haukilehto.
According to him, IT-companies are falling into unethical practices in these sorts of situations.
He says that unusually low prices are offered with the knowledge that the project will change during the course of the work, then the additions can be billed separately and the project is allowed to drive the finances. From the customer's point of view the problem is that the costs can increase significantly over and above what was planned.
Satu Kiiskinen, an employee of IT-industry leader Tieto Oy, denies that makes offers that make dealings unprofitable for customers. She claims that deals are made according to the market situation.
“It’s still an advantage to the customer when the work is profitable,” says Kiiskinen.
According to experts IT projects are most successful when customers have the courage to negotiate the details of the project without fear of committing legal errors. Also, it would help if projects were split up into smaller parts. They could also be put up for tender in smaller chunks – done one stage at a time – with evaluation at intermediate stages to check out what has gone well and where the project should be headed.
Public sector is own worst enemy
In this case the tender may not be sufficiently understandable and municipal decision-makers fear that if they have too much communication with bidders they will run into legal trouble. A huge fear is that of ending up in the market court haggling over conditions. However, if avoiding errors or legal complications becomes the primary motivator, the customer can end up compromising on performance or quality.
Ahti Haukilehto points out that public sector organizations are forced to seek tender for every project separately, meaning that an IT firm’s previous good track record may not, in fact, count for anything. He believes that if public sector organisations were able to build good, lasting relationships with IT firms, it could save them a lot of money that would otherwise be blown on unsuccessful projects. It could also preserve the IT company’s own reputation and foster good customer relations.