It’s pretty depressing for CIOs and IT staff when their projects fail to get off the ground, but don’t be too disheartened if it happens to you. So long as these failures can lead to changes in your attitude towards experimentation and management, they don’t have to constitute a net loss.

At least, that’s the argument made by Tech Republic’s Toby Wolpe. Citing new analysis from the research firm Gartner, Wolpe points out that companies with a higher percentage of failed projects are often the first to develop a culture of experimentation, which quickly throws up its own advantages. Such companies benefit from being able to determine whether or not future projects are likely to be a success sooner, an attribute that allows them to be more creative whilst assuming less risk.

In light of this, companies should aim to be a little less conservative when it comes to their IT projects, aiming for a failure rate of somewhere between 20% and 30%. By throwing caution to the wind in this manner, companies will ultimately end up developing solutions that are more responsive to the specific conditions relating to their business.

Moreover, given the current uncertainty with the economy, its a risk that companies can’t afford not to take. Audrey Apfel, managing vice president at Gartner, says that it’s almost impossible to completely mitigate risk factors, yet many projects need to be undertaken:

“By having the courage to accept failure and move on, you are more likely to minimize your losses, learn from your mistakes, and make the organization more efficient, more quickly.”

Apfel further states that companies with a ‘favorable’ rate of failure will learn to develop better business cases and planning procedures. Ultimately, this will lead to them introducing new mechanisms that support a mentality of ‘acceptable failure”. In addition, companies that follow this approach will be able to devise early warning systems that can help them to detect failing projects earlier, thus negating the risk factors whilst simultaneously advancing experimentation.

Whilst Apfel’s approach might not be beneficial to all organizations, it will surely advantage those that are willing and able to dedicate a good portion of their IT budgets towards it. Essentially, IT projects – particularly those involving Big Data and other new concepts – will become more like research and development. Some you win, some you lose, but always you learn something valuable.

For any company that has a bit of spare cash to throw around, the experimental approach may well be worth trying. Of course, there are plenty of companies around that face heavy IT budget constraints combined with constant pressure to cut costs – in such cases, it’s hard to see how IT departments could accept frittering away a third of their budget on failed endeavours.