Does IT Matter? Information Technology and the Corrosion of...

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 208 pages
• Published by: Harvard Business School Press
• Edition: 1st Edition April 2004
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1591394449
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1591394440
• Book Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Weighs: 14.1 ounces

The Economist, April 2004
"His argument is simple, powerful and yet also subtle."

Boston Globe, May 2, 2004
"Does IT Matter? engages the imagination and the emotions, a rare combination in a business book."

Reader Reviews
I am one of the legions of IT managers who by association has contributed to the mess Carr so accurately portrays. This book in on the mark. IT is too technology focused. Worse, IT is blind to its own faults and fails to see that the technology we use and the services we provide are commodities as Carr claims. Make no mistake, Carr does not make claims that technical innovation is unimportant, nor does he claim that technology properly applied is useless. At issue is the way that technology is misused, which goes back to the fact that IT is so focused on technology that business suffers from unfulfilled promises, application of technology to non-problems, and plain arrogance of those who are supposed to be providing services and solutions to support business imperatives. This book is must reading by the CxO community. It should wake up the business executives to the fallacies foisted upon them by IT to the point where CIOs and senior IT executives will be held accountable for how well they support business initiatives instead of how technically advanced their shops are. To that end the fact that this book is published by Harvard Business School Press, meaning that it stands a chance of being read by outsiders who do have the power to demand changes in IT, is one of the valuable aspects of this work. Summarizing, this book is about chronic problems that plague most IT shops, and is also about looking at IT in a more objective way. Do not expect solutions because they are in short supply in this book, but do expect an honest look at the way IT has diverged from being a business support function to being a money pit for corporate resources. Also expect to see technology and IT services placed in their proper context, with all of the hype and mystery stripped away.