Strategic Information Systems Some Major Themes Week #1 pt. B Information technology is arguably the most disruptive force in organizations since the Industrial Revolution.

Information as A Strategic Asset Information Technology as a Strategic Asset Theme #1

Expectations of IT have changed… 4 WAYS OF USING IT 1) AUTOMATING 2) INFORMATING 3) STRATEGIZING 4) BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE (integration)

IT for Automating: The First Step Operations emphasis View technology as a way to continue doing the same things Use technology to automate existing tasks Easily measurable value

IT for Automating: The First Step Time: 1960’s to mid-1970’s Objective: Labor reduction; faster, cheaper, more accurate Value Added: Relatively low Risk: Moderate Technology: Mainframes; centralized

IT for Informating: The Second Step Emphasis on information for decision making Use technology to provide information about operations Use technology to help detect problems with processes Use of technology without informating can make a bad process worse

IT for Informating: The Second Step Time: 1980’s to early 1990’s Objective: Process improvement Value Added: Moderate Risk: Low Technology: Distributed computing; networks

IT for Strategizing: The Third Step IT as enabler of better, faster, cheaper View technology as an enabler of organizational strategy IT impacts all functions of the organization’s value chain

IT for Strategizing: The Third Step Time: early-1990’s to current Objective: Better, faster, cheaper, competitive advantage, process re- engineering Value Added: High Risk: High Technology: Ubiquitous computing

IT for Business Intelligence: The Next Step??? Gathering information from sources inside and out of the organization Ubiquitous/real time information Information integration

Information Technology as the chief enabler of … Theme #2 BETTER, FASTER, CHEAPER!

Organizations in the Information Age New products New ways to market/sell/deliver products New processes/ways to operate (BPR) New organizational forms New ways to work

E-business exploits IT to bring “better, faster, cheaper” to all processes in the Value Chain. BETTER FASTER CHEAPER

What has enabled IT to become a Strategic Enabler? (1) Moore’s Law (Gordon Moore) Every eighteen months processing power doubles while costs hold constant.

What has enabled IT to become a Strategic Enabler? (2) Metcalfe’s Law (Robert Metcalfe) The usefulness of a network equals the square of the number of users. (i.e., the usefulness of a network increases exponentially with each additional user)

Metcalfe’s Law: “The more people use your software, your network, your standard, your game, your book, the more valuable it becomes. The more new users it will attract, increasing the utility and the speed of its adoption by still more users”. *Adapted from Unleashing The Killer App, by Larry Downs

The challenge of rapidly changing IT The Law of Disruption Social, political, and economic systems change incrementally, technology changes exponentially.

From Islands of Technology… Accounting systems Sales/ Marketing systems Order/ Inventory systems Interfaces interfaces Theme #3 Integration

To Enterprise Information Architechture (EIA) Integration

E-business Application Architecture BACK OFFICE: accounting, order processing FRONT OFFICE: sales/customer service CRM ERP Enterprise Resource Planning Customer Relationship Management Selling Chain Management Supply Chain Management E-procurement SCM Trading partners EP Non-production goods/services Enterprise Application Integration (EAI)

Information Technology is changing how organizations form themselves. Theme #4 Creating and controlling information is more powerful than moving and manufacturing physical products. Virtual organizations. Alliances/partnering

Businesses must build “e-business community” models to serve the customer. Management must align business strategies, processes, and applications fast, right, and all at once. Strong leadership is imperative. Organizational Change for E-Business

Ubiquitous Computing anywhere/any time globalization networking; Internet information-infused products wireless telecommunications Theme #5

Information Technology is changing the way people work Knowledge worker -- information and knowledge are the raw materials of his/her work Teamwork -- a new emphasis on collaborative work Anytime, anywhere work Theme #6

The Role of the CIO Yesterday’s Role 80% Technical Hardware Orientation Efficiency measures Today’s Role 20% Technical People Orientation Competitive measures Working in the Information Age

Knowledge management Organizational learning

Theme #7 Information Technology presents new Ethical challenges. Privacy Accuracy Access equality Political governance

Is technology changing in response to external forces, or is technology driving change? END