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Title: Does IT Matter? Information Technology and the Corrosion of Competitive Advantage by Nicholas G. Carr ISBN: 1-59139-444-9 Publisher: Harvard Business School Press Pub. Date: April, 2004 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.57 (14 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Brilliant examination of computers' role in business
Comment: This is a fascinating book, and it's sure to be widely talked about and debated. I read Carr's famous article in the Harvard Business Review, and this book expands on the ideas in the article but also goes well beyond it to describe the historical precedents for information technology, the evolution of IT's role in business, the practical new imperatives for IT investment and management, and broader questions about IT's influence over productivity, profit, business strategy, and society. I especially liked Carr's discussion of the forces that drive computer hardware and software to rapidly become commodities - it really made me see the technology in a new way. The book has lots of interesting examples, and it's very clearly written. It's going to cause a stir.
Rating: 5
Summary: A different view of the computer revolution
Comment: There has seemed to be a neverending flood of hype about computers for at least the last 20 years. Information technology (IT) is going to change everything, we've been told - from the way businesses operate to the way people live. Well, the flood ends here. Meticulously argued, well researched, and surprisingly lively, this short book dissects one computer myth after another. Most of it focuses on the business world, showing how IT is turning into another commonplace technology like electricity. There's an engaging historical review of how big technologies create big business changes early in their development, but then quickly turn into routine costs. It also provides practical advice for companies on how they should manage IT. It ends, though, with a broader examination of how we tend to get carried away with our dreams of big technological revolutions. It shows that in comparison with earlier technologies computers have had a fairly modest impact on society and commerce - and that some of the consequences have been less than positive. This book is a breath of fresh air.
Rating: 4
Summary: Nothing new & no clear prescription
Comment: If possible I'd award 3.5 stars. There is value in the book, which has two main levels:
(1) makes a case for the deplorable state of IT as a business enabler
(2) claims IT is now viewed as a commodity
In (1) what Carr has to say is true and has been for as long as I've been in the profession, which is over 25 years. Carr's contentions parallel my experience on this level. When I started out we "MIS" professionals were the priests and priestesses who worked our magic in glass rooms. We were merely arrogant then. Life was simpler and some vendors worked closely with us. IBM, which is my main background, had a reputation for never letting their customers fail. That is not to say that their recommendations and solutions always translated into business value for their customers, but rarely did they result in disasters either. As time went on though MIS became IS, then IT. Systems grew more complex, proprietary systems gave way to interoperability, then open systems, and new vendors started arriving in droves. Innovation fanned the flames of complexity, and IT remained arrogant, but began focusing so much on the technology (and trying to keep up with it) that they lost sight of business needs. Methods devolved into chaos and the chasm between IT and the business widened to the point where IT was in some cases counter-productive to business needs.
On the second level, where Carr claims that IT is now viewed as a commodity, is where this book gets interesting. In many areas that has been going on for over a decade. Mass storage systems are measured in pennies per MB, powerful desktop systems are priced in the same range as consumer entertainment electronics, and certain classes of applications software are bargains. Further, the open source movement is changing the dynamics as I write this review, which may one day render much software as a commodity.
What Carr does not do is give clear advice about how to deal with problems and new dynamics that have roots in the distant past. The status quo is clearly and accurately documented in this book, but the prescription is vague. That is where this book falls short.
The main value of this book is as stated by others: use it as a mirror if you work in IT. Perhaps a few brave souls with leadership skills will start changes in the profession that will have a ripple effect. Especially if those brave souls work for large enterprises and get sufficient press for their successes. At the very least the CxOs who may stumble across this book may see their own IT organization in the descriptions Carr gives and decide to do something about it. I would also hope that those who work on the vendor and product development side take a few hints from this book and craft their technology innovations into actionable solutions that will get IT back on track. It can be done, especially if the ingenuity those vendors exhibit in technology innovation can be extended to bundled products that also contain innovative solutions and consulting.
One final comment: a colleague distinguished between intellectual capital and task-oriented work performed by IT. Obviously the task-oriented work is a commodity, and with some analysis can be identified and outsourced. That is a step towards getting IT back on track and delivering value to business. There are other such ideas hiding in this book if one reads it with an open and inquiring mind.
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Title: IT Doesn't Matter-Business Processes Do: A Critical Analysis of Nicholas Carr's I.T. Article in the Harvard Business Review by Howard Smith, Peter Fingar ISBN: 0929652355 Publisher: Meghan-Kiffer Press Pub. Date: August, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: IT Governance: How Top Performers Manage IT Decision Rights for Superior Results by Peter Weill, Jeanne Ross ISBN: 1591392535 Publisher: Harvard Business School Press Pub. Date: 01 June, 2004 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: The Innovator's Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth by Clayton M. Christensen, Michael E. Raynor ISBN: 1578518520 Publisher: Harvard Business School Press Pub. Date: September, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title:IT Doesn't Matter (HBR OnPoint Enhanced Edition) by Nicholas G. Carr ASIN: B00009MBYN Publisher: Harvard Business School Press Pub. Date: 27 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $7.00 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $7.00 |
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Title: Strategy Maps: Converting Intangible Assets into Tangible Outcomes by Robert S. Kaplan, David P. Norton ISBN: 1591391342 Publisher: Harvard Business School Press Pub. Date: 02 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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