Abstract
IDC and Government Insights interviewed 279 IT executives working for central,
regional, and local government agencies and asked about the IT decision-making
processes leading to the definition of an IT strategy, from the role of
external consultants to the selection process for primary IT suppliers.
Government Insights believes that as IT processes blend intrinsically with
government organizations' core business functions, more players get involved in
the IT decision-making process. Survey results strongly suggest that IT
executives, line-of-business executives, and finance executives are all
involved in making decisions related to ICT strategies, budgets, and
operations. Thus ICT vendors are challenged to address a varied group of
executives and must develop value propositions that focus on governments' IT
priorities and that address the unique requirements of the public sector.
"ICT vendors interested in developing increased market share in the government
sector will need to recognize that decisions about IT investment are no longer
made solely by IT executives, but involve line-of-business, policy, finance,
and other executives as well as politicians in some instances. And, although
this makes the government customer base much broader, vendors will need to
recognize that all of these stakeholders are either decision makers or serious
decision influencers," said Silvia Piai, senior research analyst, Government
Insights. "Value propositions should be focused on government needs,
considering that central and local governments players are facing IT challenges
on separate grounds."
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