What State and Local Governments Want Most from Their Technology Providers

Citrix Systems Inc., today announced the findings of its survey of state and local government Information Technology (IT) executives on IT purchasing trends and preferences. Survey respondents -- 124 state and local IT buyers -- identified price, service and response time as their most important IT purchasing-decision criteria, according to a release from the company. They ranked "personal relationships with a sales representative" as only moderately important.

Forty-six percent of respondents named reseller/VARs as their primary source for IT purchases, followed by existing contractors (23 percent), manufacturers (16 percent), and technology-specific providers (15 percent). While technology breadth rated high on the priority list, with 48 percent of respondents stating they prefer to work with large resellers that offer a broad range of options, market depth also ranked as a priority, with 38 percent of respondents noting they prefer resellers with a specific state and local focus.

Of interest, 38 percent of respondents characterize their IT providers as trusted partners, rather than mere product providers.

Looking beyond the channel for the delivery of IT solutions, state and local government officials also expressed preferences for specific vendor brands -- especially with regard to software. Seventy-four percent of respondents stated that their reseller/VAR's relationships with Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) are very or somewhat important. In addition, when comparing various decisions factors, more respondents ranked "previous experience with the reseller" (61 percent) as most important, than breadth of products (44 percent ranked most important) or variety of contract vehicles (39 percent ranked most important).

"State and Local IT buyers are one-hundred percent focused on program performance," said Bert Wakeley, director of State and Local Government for Citrix. "Their emphasis is on maximizing the value of the taxpayer's dollar and deploying IT solutions that improve citizen services. The survey results point to an opportunity for IT providers to improve their relationships with State and Local executives through deeper partnerships and continued high service levels."

When asked to provide feedback on their own IT providers, state and local IT executives said they were most satisfied with product selection and service and responsiveness:

• Service and Responsiveness: 78 percent of state and local IT executives gave their IT providers an A or B
• Knowledge of My Needs: 75 percent gave their providers an A or B
• Training Provided: 54 percent gave their providers an A or B
• Procurement Support Provided: 67 percent gave their providers an A or B
• Product Selection: 80 percent gave their providers an A or B

"The survey results underline the market's requirement for best-value, performance-tested solutions," Wakeley added. "Buyers will not tolerate distractions. They are looking for reliable, easy-to-procure tools, enabling them to stay focused on their mission of supporting the business of state and local government."

The online survey of in April 2006 has a margin of error of 6.75 percent with a 90 percent confidence rate.