Re: IBM, Accenture fight for massive Australian Defence ERP deal
"To be honest, it shocks me that these behemoths, with these terrible track records are allowed to bid for government or large corporate contracts."
Because they are the only ones big enough to do it. Governments don't have competent people to mange large projects with many small contractors. The only option is to go to a one-stop-shop. And the big boys don't want to use open standards because they want vendor lock-in. They will always have plausible reasons for doing so, even if the Government usually mandate the use of open standards and interoperability.