Why do big digital projects in the public sector fail?
The Birmingham example also highlights another problem. Public-sector organisations have legacy systems and old data, which make any new system a challenge to implement. The underlying problem is that digital technology moves and develops quickly, whereas large organisations tend to move at a slower pace using bureaucratic processes. So, from the start there is a mismatch, according to Mark Thompson, professor of digital economy in Index (Initiative for the Digital Economy) at the University of Exeter.
“These large technology projects are often conceived to last for two, three, four years,” explains Thompson. Buying in technology, however, tends to contract on a ten-year cycle. The first three years work well, as the contractor invests in the technology and engages in improving services, but the following seven years are lacklustre. When the needs of the organisation change, the contractor will argue that any change to the systems are outside of the scope and will cost more.
