Fear can't hurt you any more than a dream
The relationship between the public and private sector is not necessarily an easy one, and faults and blame can be levelled on both sides in many cases. So many things happen between two or more parties that brings failure to a project; from badly composed terms of reference through to a simple refusal to communicate properly, too many times the needs and desires of a local governement are dashed through the failure to deliver.
To continually point the finger of blame at the supplier is a bit rich however. Local Authorities are just as guilty of unprofessional behaviour through amateurish contracts and negotiation, a complete lack of understanding about technology and an unwillingness to follow due diligence in understanding just exactly what they really need and can realistically get. Throw in needlessly complex - and easily ignored - procurement processes and you have a recipe for failure and public spending abuse.
The awful thing is that a proper, radical overhaul of the entire procurement and negotiation process is massively overdue, but it won't happen as it will (a) be against the interests of the large suppliers and (b) it will result in money being saved and public sector jobs lost or moved elsewhere - which is not in their interests. So we're stuck with the rather rubbish systems and will have to suffer more failed projects as a result.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
