Corporate IT: Pass or Fail?

Is information technology (IT) suffering from a crisis of confidence? Judging from the results of surveys, press reports, etc., one could be forgiven for thinking so. Perhaps we should not be too surprised for, since the days when computer technology emerged from the confines of academic research, computers, and the issues surrounding them, appear to have been a constant ‘thorn in the side’ of management. Whether the major issue is one of meeting user–requirements, security, meeting implementation deadlines, training, recruiting and retaining skilled staff, containing costs, or simply making the technology work, one or a number of these issues has been proclaimed as the one which requires the undivided attention of management at some time during the history of IT. Whilst other technologies have had a profound and lasting effect in some industry sectors, IT seems to remains a constant issue to all types of business, large or small.