Big Blue loses out to the likes of Capita, CSC, EDS, SBS, every time. Why is this? Does anyone know? Maybe it bids the real price rather than bidding low and then screwing the client?
If HP does acquire CSC it will have a great foothold in the UK market, for exactly the kind of public sector mega deals IBM always misses out on.
Disclaimer:
IBM is a client, but not specifically IGS.
Christoph Görn says:
January 6, 2006 at 5:46 pm
processes, risk assesment, wimps and marketable prices… basically, that is the mixture that enables use – I am an IBM Global Service guy – to loose public sector clients. Same over here in Germany.
Mark Cathcart says:
January 6, 2006 at 6:01 pm
I’ve not been involved in any recent bids, but Christoph makes a point. Having been a risk assessor for a number of IBM bids in the 90’s and ongoing projects where IBM was a subcontractor, I can tell you first hand we take the architecture and design very seriously and no expense is spared to make sure that we have every confidence that they will work upfront, then during the project get high level people in to review progress etc.
If that leads to high up front bid costs, and to a project cost that represents the cost/effort IBM puts in, then so be it. If we lose purely becuase of that then its buyer beware.
And IBM is heavily involved in the RAF LITS project, a major DSS(or whatever they are called these days)project and many others in the UK. Sometimes winning is being the only company capable of delivering what someone else promised!
Mark Cathcart says:
January 8, 2006 at 8:36 pm
Oh yeah, I see Rebecca joins nation’s list of outstanding achievers with an OBE. So I guess it depends how you measure winners 😉
“A fantastic reward for 10 years of ‘spare time’ activities” – that’s how Rebecca George, IBM’s Director of UK Government Business, describes being appointed OBE in the New Year Honours.
james governor says:
January 9, 2006 at 1:31 pm
cheers mark. i was writing about LITS when i was a cub reporter in 2005. it was a near complete fugazi. rebecca george eh – i don’t know anything about rebecca, but the facts on the ground are – not a great deal of success from ibm in the space. i dont know about spare time or political contributions.
hwo do you measure winners? in in the services business by winning customers and keeping them happy i should think