The client was a specialist IT services and solution provider who assists clients with planning, building, supporting and managing their IT infrastructures.

The client required specific South African government departments to be profiled in various dimensions relating to ICT usage, spending and decision-making. The client required this information to better target the public sector, be more competitive in the government space, and to pursue new opportunities and prospects in government.

The scope of the project included defining the structure of the selected government departments, decision maker information, competitor information, emerging trends and issues relating to implementing ICT, strategic priorities including e-government strategy breakdowns, budgets and expenditure patterns, procurement procedures, regulatory issues and the effect of these on the ICT environment, tendering procedures and how skills are assessed.

The Research Approach

The research was a compilation of quantitative and qualitative information from a number of sources, and included face-to-face and telephonic interviews with IT and telecommunication managers and CIOs of various South African Government departments which were defined by the client in the project proposal.  This was supplemented by a substantial secondary research component, consisting of both public sources and proprietary data.

BMI-T used a team approach, we:

• Established the joint team
• Defined the role, task and research
• Collaboratively designed the project plan
• Ensured continuous project communication with client
• Presented research findings through interactive client workshop

The Outcome of the Research

The research findings impacted the clients decision making and were used in their strategic planning process. The client was extremely satisfied with the research, and BMI-T continues to do business with this client and have worked closely with the client on other government and vertical market projects.