'Different from the private sector, the government's priority is public interest, which can often be very diverse,' he said. 'It is a given fact that you can never make everybody happy. There will be situations that some will be glad with your policy and some will be against it.'

One example is the establishment of the Information Technology Management Unit (ITMU). Formed in 2002, the ITMU is a technical support operation under ITSD. Different teams of ITMU were assigned to various departments and bureaus to facilitate their IT operations.

'It is now much easier for us to approach the government, particularly with the establishment of the ITMU,' noted a government supplier. 'However, it is only easier on the infrastructure level. We never know who to contact when it comes to issues on the application level or operation level.'

Meanwhile for some government departments, ITMU creates a problem in IT staff management. 'Since staff from ITMU is hired by OGCIO, they may not understand the department's operation and execute IT policy with the best interest of the department,' said the government's source. 'That's the set back with a centralized IT unit to set policy and execute IT initiatives.'

Another challenge is the tight governance structure within the government. 'Of course, it'd be nice if things could move faster, but that's almost impossible under a tightly governed organization like the Hong Kong government,' noted Lee from Towngas.