Does IT Matter? Information Technology and the Corrosion of Competitive Advantage 1st edition by Nicholas G. Carr (2004) Hardcover

by Nicholas Carr

Over the last decade, and even since the bursting of the technology bubble, pundits, consultants, and thought leaders have argued that information technology provides the edge necessary for business success. IT expert Nicholas G. Carr offers a radically different view in this eloquent and explosive book. As IT's power and presence have grown, he argues, its strategic relevance has actually decreased. IT has been transformed from a source of advantage into a commoditized "cost of doing business" - with huge implications for business management.Expanding on Carr's seminal Harvard Business Review article that generated a storm of controversy, Does IT Matter? provides a truly compelling - and unsettling - account of IT's changing business role and its leveling influence on competition. Through astute analysis of historical and contemporary examples, Carr shows that the evolution of IT closely parallels that of earlier technologies such as railroads and electric power. He goes on to lay out a new agenda for IT management, stressing cost control and risk management over innovation and investment. And he examines the broader implications for business strategy and organization as well as for the technology industry.A frame-changing statement on one of the most important business phenomena of our time, Does IT Matter? marks a crucial milepost in the debate about IT's future.An acclaimed business writer and thinker, Nicholas G. Carr is a former executive editor of the Harvard Business Review.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Technology, Management, Reference, Computers, Programming

Hardcover

First published April 1, 2004

About the author

Nicholas Carr is the bestselling author of several books on how technology shapes our lives and thoughts, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Shallows and the new Superbloom. His other books include The Glass Cage, Utopia Is Creepy, The Big Switch, and Does IT Matter? Former executive editor of the Harvard Business Review, Nick writes for The Atlantic, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Wired, among other publications. He lives in Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Cường Mai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Công nghệ thông tin (IT), cũng như bao phát kiến khác trong lịch sử (như đường sắt, điện tín, mạng lưới điện...) đã mang lại cho những doanh nghiệp tiên phong có tầm nhìn xa nhiều lợi thế, nhưng là một dạng lợi thế bàn đạp trong ngắn hạn cho đến khi bản thân thứ công nghệ đó trở nên phổ thông và biến thành một dạng đầu tư nền tảng hơn là lợi thế cạnh tranh. Với lập luận này tác giả Nicholas Carr đã đưa ra lời cảnh báo về xu hướng thần thánh hóa IT và việc đầu tư quá trớn vào lĩnh vực này như nhiều công ty đang làm có thể dẫn đến việc lãng phí tài nguyên & tiền của chỉ để đem về những khoản lợi nhuận nhỏ nhoi không tương xứng.

Được phát triển từ một bài báo trên tạp chí kinh doanh Havard Business Review nên không ngạc nhiên khi nội dung của cuốn sách này như một bản báo cáo dài về kinh tế với đủ thứ số liệu thống kê, tuy cũng có nhiều câu chuyện lịch sử hấp dẫn về các tập đoàn tiên phong trong việc sử dụng công nghệ nhưng đa phần các lập luận trong sách đều luẩn quẩn về cùng một ý như mình tóm tắt ở trên, không hiểu tại sao tác giả phải viết hẳn một cuốn sách với 7 chương khác nhau làm gì.

Một vấn đề nữa của cuốn này là tuy có nội dung nằm giao thoa giữa hai lãnh vực kinh tế và công nghệ nhưng nó quá kinh tế so với dân kỹ thuật và cũng khá vĩ mô so phần lớn dân buôn bán làm ăn (trừ một số vị trí cấp cao của các doanh nghiệp lớn) nên mình nghĩ sách sẽ khó lòng thu hút được người làm trong cả hai lĩnh vực này.

[Duong Tan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Các GS môn thông tin quản trị (MIS) hoặc môn tech startup thường ca ngợi hết mình IT và nói rằng IT có thể giúp bạn lên đỉnh. Ngày nay lại những ví dụ như Facebook, Uber, AirBnB càng giúp cho giấc mơ một phát lên tiên của cánh business càng thêm bay bổng.
Nhưng có một câu hỏi từ năm 2004 vẫn treo lơ lửng trên đầu mỗi nhà chiến lược: Liệu IT đã hết thời?
Người hỏi câu đó là Nicolas Carr, tác giả của cuốn sách bán chạy The Shallows.
Gần đây lại có một báo cáo của OECD nhấn mạnh những đầu tư khổng lồ cho việc đưa máy tính vào trường học không giúp gì được cho hiệu quả học tập của học sinh.

Dường như Nicolas Carr vẫn đúng trong nhận định rất an toàn này: IT không làm nên khác biệt, cách sử dụng IT mới tạo ra sự khác biệt.

Đọc một cuốn sách cũ, chỉ để tìm thấy một mệnh đề rất cũ, nhưng lại vừa được nhắc lại như thể rất mới. Vì vẫn còn ngộ nhận.

Ở trong các trường kinh doanh, giáo sư vẫn tiếp tục dạy: phải quan tâm tới ba dòng khí chính trong công ty của bạn: dòng tiền, dòng vật lí, và dòng thông tin...

[Pedro Martinez · Rating 3 out of 5]

A hundred years ago, many large companies created the "Vice President of Electricity" to strategically deal with the opportunity that this energy source was providing to the corporations. Some years after, electricity became a commodity and it naturally fell off in the management agenda. The book from Nicholas G. Carr "Does IT Matter?" deals with examples like to envision if IT will be having a similar fate in our companies.



Carr's book extends the point of view that he originally presented in a well known article from Harvard Business Review in 2003. Entitled as “IT Doesn't Matter”, it started a very polemic debate among IT professionals and users of information technology, that endures to date.



Easy to read and put the right questions thru a proper background. A smart starting point for a fruitful discusion in the IT departments of today's companies on the mission and value proposition of this area.

[Nagarjun Kandukuru · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few more examples than in his famous article of the same name; no fresh insights. But Carr's central premise (be a follower in IT implementations not the leader, much of IT "simply keeps the lights on, and does not deliver sustainable competitive advantages") is so intriguing. You've got to love the fact that Ballmer, Fiorina et. al. tied themselves into knots over his theory.

[Steven Williamson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I originally was assigned this book as the "textbook" for one of my college classes. I was happy with the end result. Carr uses this book to expand on his original article about how information technology (IT) is losing its usefulness as an advantage in business because of its (brace for Carr's favorite word) ubiquity. It's a good read, and although some of the references are slightly dated, the book's main thesis is still a valid point in today's business world. While IT is still important for businesses to embrace, its role as a source of competitive advantage has been diminished.

[Marcus Kirsch · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the first books that recognised that IT was becoming commoditised and that huge IT departments do not mean a business is better than one with a small IT department. A bit aged now, but worthy of reviewing to compare it to similar fallacies that we are applying today.

[Arthur · Rating 4 out of 5]

　　一篇刊在於哈佛商業評論的〈IT doesn't matter.〉在美國資訊界引起激烈論戰，作者為了將自己的觀點完整陳述，遂誕生了這本書。

　　主要是表達資訊科技，或者也可以衍伸到各種新科技，在企業內的定位會隨著時間和普及度而有所轉變，曾經被視為競爭優勢的新工具，一旦大部份競爭者都獲得之後，便只會是一樣必備工具了。

[Sameer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very exciting book
i would recommend it to my friends

[Omar Halabieh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main premise of the book is best summarized by the author in the preface: "Through an analysis of its unique characteristics, evolving business role, and historical precedents, I will argue that IT's strategic importance is not growing, as many have claimed or assumed, but diminishing. As IT has become more powerful, more standardized, and more affordable, it has been transformed from a proprietary technology that companies can use to gain an edge over their rivals into an infrastructural technology that is shared by all competitors. Information technology has increasingly become, in other words, a simple factor of production—a commodity input that is necessary for competitiveness but insufficient for advantage."

The outline of the book is as follows: "I open with a brief introductory chapter, "Technological Transformations," that provides an overview of my thesis and underscores the value of examining IT from a strategic perspective. I stress in this chapter what I see as the central—and positive—message of this book: that IT's transformation from a set of proprietary and heterogeneous systems into a shared and standardized infrastructure is a natural, necessary, and healthy process. It is only by becoming an infrastructure—a common resource—that IT can deliver its greatest economic and social benefits. The second chapter, "Laying Tracks," introduces and explains the critical distinction between proprietary and infrastructural technologies...In Chapter 3, "An Almost Perfect Commodity," I examine the technical, economic, and competitive characteristics of IT that lend it to particularly rapid commoditization...Chapter 4, "Vanishing Advantage," looks at the history of the use of IT by companies, showing how closely it follows the pattern established by earlier infrastructural technologies...Chapter 5, "The Universal Strategy Solvent," steps back from the close examination of IT management to describe how the emergence of a new business infrastructure can change the basis of competition in markets. I discuss the corrosive effects of the IT infrastructure on some traditional forms of competitive advantage and describe how business success increasingly hinges on the simultaneous pursuit of both sustainable and leverageable advantages...In Chapter 6, "Managing the Money Pit," I turn to the practical managerial implications of the commoditization of IT. Stressing the importance of controlling cost and risk, I offer four guidelines for IT investment and management: spend less; follow, don't lead; innovate when risks are low; and focus more on vulnerabilities than opportunities...The final chapter, "A Dream of Wonderful Machines," explores the broader consequences of information technology for economies and societies. I describe how our natural enthusiasm for a new technology, with its promise of renewal. can lead us to exaggerate its benefits and overlook its costs. and I examine how this bias has influenced our perceptions of the so-called computer revolution."

Below are two additional key excerpts that I found particularly insightful:

1- "The most successful business executives ignore such academic distinctions, of course. They realize, intuitively, that successful strategy is about both achieving a privileged industry position and exploiting unique internal capabilities. They know, in other words, that business success derives from a continuous and purposeful mediation between what lies inside and what lies outside. The maturation of the IT infrastructure, with its corrosive effects on competitive advantage, demands more such acts of practical synthesis. It requires that managers see a competitive advantage as both a goal and a passageway, an end and a means. And it requires that they defend their company's integrity as a stand-alone business even as they exploit the tighter connections to other companies made possible by computer networks. Agility must be balanced with stability, openness with guardedness. Those executives who are able to master such bifocal vision without losing their ability to take forceful action will be the ones that build the great and lasting companies of the twenty-first century. "

2- "Although we're now five decades into the so-called computer revolution, it remains difficult to judge with any precision the extent and shape of IT's effects. Has it been truly transformative? Will it become truly transformative? The fact is, we can't yet answer those questions with any certainty. The best we can do is to separate what we do know from what we don't, and to look ahead with a mix of curiosity, skepticism, and humility. "

[Sant · Rating 1 out of 5]

Глупо читать книгу 2004 года в 2020. Да и автор журналист. Больше нечего сказать о ней.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every IT manager and especially every senior IT manager should read this book. It blows up the myth-making that vendors (and I work for one of those vendors) do regarding how IT can give you a competitive advantage, when outside of several narrow industries (hedge funds and investment banks can get an edge on the competition for example) IT is a commodity input to production and you can't do better than your competition, therefore, the author advocates not trying to be a first-mover on new technology. Let another firm blaze the trail then follow right behind. Let them absorb the higher costs.

[Stephen Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carr basically says that applications have reached the point where they are becoming commodities. He frequently references parallels in the train industry to make his point. His prediction is that cloud computing will provide better bang for the buck for businesses as leaving to professionals the IT work provides an economy of scale when it is centralized.

Today it seems like his predictions are taking place, but to what degree the trend will continue is unclear.

[Ted Dziedzic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for a persoective on how IT (Information Technology) has become a commodity that is available to all companies. The value of IT comes from when you install and begin using techology do you have a unique way of leveraging technology versus your competition. Interesting perspective especially now that IT and access to the internet has expanded a great deal since the book was published. Easy read, very good real world examples provided to illustrate business/ IT points.

[Vladimir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Книга произвела очень сильное впечатление. Лишний раз убедился, что все лучшие практики уже давным давно были кем-то придуманы. Все приемы и практики давно испробованы. Но в силу своей тупости миллионы людей не желают считаться с этим и постоянно наступают на одни и те же грабли.

Настойчиво рекомендую прочесть книгу всем владельцам бизнеса, несвязанным с информационными технологиями. Да всем остальным тоже будет полезно.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting perspective on technology becoming a commodity rather than a tool that can be used to gain a competitive advantage. While I believe many of the points the author makes to be valid, I see the potential of innovation in software and hardware development as infinite, compared to say things that are now commodities but were not always, such as electricity or the telephone.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic read for anyone interested in IT, tech strategy, or the 'future' of IT and business. I won't spoil anything, but it definitely gets one thinking, and while I disagree with Mr. Carr on a few points overall he makes a very compelling argument.

[Anurag Agrawal · Rating 5 out of 5]

It correctly predicted IT industry future by an apt analogy with the growth of utilty industry a century earlier. Now these arguments are pretty well accepted and recognized by growth of SaaS business model. A must read!

[Phil Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't agree with some of Carr's arguments, but this is well-written and researched. I refuse to give a bad rating to a book when I don't agree with some of the premise.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

a quick read with some interesting factoids.

[atsuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

ビジネスにおけるITの影響について冷静に考える機会と手がかりを得られた。

[Dhananjay Suryawanshi]

It's a thought-provoking book for any guy working in a technology world!

[Coal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Книжка интересная, но выводы сделаные автором неправильные или не совсем правильные.