|
From networks to databases and from e-mail
to voicemail, the amount of capital being invested in information
technology (IT) each year is staggering. By 1996, U.S. firms
were spending more than $500 billion annually on IT. In
1997, prior to its merger with Bank of America, Nations
Bank reported a nearly $2 billion budget for IT. As firms
like this push rapidly into the business world of the 21st
Century, the question has remained: how do firms measure
returns from these substantial investments in IT?
Henry C. Lucas effectively answers this
question by providing a creative and reliable framework
for measuring the competitive advantages and profits gained
through investments in state of the art information systems.
There is value in IT, and it is possible to show
returns, Lucas argues -- unfortunately this value just doesn't
always show up clearly on the bottom line of a ledger. In
five expertly presented sections, he spells out exactly
what businesses can expect from their IT investments --
some investments create a measurable value, some do not,
but all are important nonetheless. Through a precise mix
of frameworks and models, such as an Investment Opportunities
Matrix, and punctuated with real examples from successful
firms, this is the first book to allow executives to see
exactly how their IT investment can be expected to return
value, thereby maximizing their advantages in an age of
global competitiveness.
Indeed, firms who manage their information
systems most efficiently are best suited to succeed in a
rapidly evolving marketplace. With so much at stake, Information
Technology and the Productivity Paradox is certain to
be the essential guide for firms determined to compete
and flourish in the highly competitive economy of the next
century.
Henry C. Lucas, Jr., has spent much of
his professional life studying information technology (IT)
and how the right kind of system can deliver great value
to an organization. But he has also been able to show that
the value of any investment in IT is not always measured
in a return to the bottom-line. His most recent work, with
several co-researchers, has included spreadsheet modeling
in IT, the T-Form Organization, a framework for evaluating
a financial imaging system, and how Open Data Networks influence
business performance and market structure. He is Research
Professor of Information Systems at the Stern School of
Business, New York University. In the summer he sails on
the Long Island Sound.
|
