The government is wasting billions of euros on computer technology which does not work properly or is never put into use, Trouw reports on Monday. The paper says up to €5bn could be being spent on useless systems every year.

The paper bases its claims on analyses by several independent experts using government spending and experience in other countries.
‘US research shows that some 30% of IT projects never take off, 50% have a lot of problems and only 20% can be described as successful,’ Eindhoven professor Jan Friso Groote told the paper.
Of the €18.5bn spent by government and the private sector on IT projects in 2004, this would mean ‘over €6bn went on projects which flopped while €9bn was spent on projects which were problematic,’ Groote said.
The state sector accounts for some 50% of all IT spending, the paper said.