IT managers frustrated by lack of vendor engagement

IT managers are unable to get access to senior managers in the vendor community

UK businesses want better support from their vendors, and are frustrated at not being given access to senior level managers, according to new research from the SAP UK & Ireland User Group.

The organisation found that 85 per cent of IT directors surveyed would like greater access to senior management and product development staff in order to raise concerns or wield more influence.

A further 85 per cent are frustrated by IT vendors bringing out new products and then withdrawing or reducing support for other products in their portfolio that still worked well.

And around a half of respondents felt that vendors do not take onboard their feedback for product development.

Alan Bowling, chairman of the SAP UK & Ireland User Group, argued that the research highlights the "difficulty of getting hold of the senior IT vendor guys".

However, he admitted that senior management in large IT vendors do not have enough hours in a week to devote time to individual customers.

"User groups [on the other hand] can take a consolidated view from organisations and send them to the vendors with extra clout," he said. "From an SAP point of view we have been more vocal and it's got us somewhere because people have listened. In the past 12 months SAP has engaged more intensely with us than ever before."