There is an uncomfortable truth in the IT industry that few like to admit:
most failed IT projects do not collapse because of servers, software, or licenses.
They fail because of decisions made by people.
At SMMHub, we are often invited into projects when something has already gone wrong. And in almost every case, we hear the same explanations:
— “The technology is good, but it didn’t deliver results.”
— “We bought everything correctly, yet the business didn’t benefit.”
— “Formally, everything works — but the company is struggling.”
Let’s talk honestly about why this happens and what companies consistently overlook.
1. The most common mistake: IT exists separately from the business
In many organizations, IT projects are launched for reasons like:
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“Everyone else is already using it.”
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“The vendor recommended it.”
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“It looks modern and scalable.”
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“We need to upgrade something.”
But rarely does anyone clearly answer one key question:
What specific business problem are we solving?
As a result:
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the system is implemented,
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budgets are spent,
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reports look impressive,
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but business efficiency remains unchanged.
Technology without a clear purpose is just an expensive tool.
2. Choosing solutions by brand, not by need
Well-known vendors create a sense of confidence.
Big names feel safe.
The problem is that a famous brand does not automatically mean the right solution.
We have seen cases where:
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companies overpaid for features they never used,
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complex platforms were deployed where simple solutions would have been enough,
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flexibility was lost due to overengineered architectures.
IT is not about status.
It is about suitability.
A tool should match the task — not the presentation.
3. No real owner — the silent killer of IT projects
One of the most dangerous situations is when:
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IT is responsible for implementation,
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business units define requirements,
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vendors deliver the solution,
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but no one owns the final result.
In such projects:
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decisions are slow,
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requirements change constantly,
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accountability is blurred,
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success becomes accidental.
Even strong technology cannot save a project without clear ownership.
4. Saving money in the wrong places
Many companies try to save costs by cutting:
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architectural planning,
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pre-project analysis,
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pilot testing,
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staff training.
Later, they spend two or three times more fixing mistakes.
Cost reduction without understanding consequences is not optimization.
It is delayed spending.
5. People matter more than infrastructure
The most powerful infrastructure is useless if:
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teams don’t understand why the system exists,
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users resist change,
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nobody is trained properly,
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processes remain outdated.
Every IT project is, at its core, a change in human behavior.
Ignore this — and resistance will overpower any technology.
6. When “everything works,” but the business is unhappy
This is one of the most misleading scenarios.
The system is live.
There are no critical errors.
Incidents are minimal.
Yet:
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processes become more complicated,
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speed decreases,
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employees are frustrated,
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management sees no real value.
The reason is almost always the same:
IT was implemented separately from business logic, not as part of it.
7. The SMMHub approach: start with questions, not products
At SMMHub, we never start with hardware or licenses.
We start with questions:
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where the business is losing money,
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where risks appear,
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what slows growth,
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which processes are truly critical.
Only after that do we select technology — precisely and purposefully, without excess complexity or marketing illusions.
Final conclusion
IT projects rarely fail suddenly.
They fail gradually — because of poor decisions, unclear goals, and lack of responsibility.
Companies that:
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think before buying,
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connect IT to business outcomes,
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consider the human factor,
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avoid chasing trends,
gain more than infrastructure — they gain a real growth tool.
Technology does not make a business successful.
People’s decisions do.