IT blind spots in business

Business software vendor Mercury and the Economist Intelligence Unit have released a report into the ramifications of IT Failure.

The report, "Managing IT Business Risk: Safeguarding the Organisation from IT Failure" was based on a global survey of around 1,000 IT executives from 22 countries throughout the United States, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Europe and the Middle East (EMEA).

The report outlines the potential blind spots for CIOs and IT leaders worldwide. It also details how companies around the world define IT business risk.

Key findings for Australia include:

- Less than half (37 percent) of all IT initiatives in Australia actually deliver the intended business outcome(s).

- The most feared business outcomes from IT failure are customer and revenue loss, reputation or brand damage and regulatory challenges arising from compliance failures.

- The departments most vulnerable to IT failure are customer service, general management, production and supply chain/logistics.

- Difficulties in coping with change in project management and development issues figure p`rominently as sources of IT failure.