Case Study on IT Doesn't Matter Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

On IT Doesn't Matter - Case Study Example One take is that while no longer strategic, IT investment and excellence remains something that is essential, as a kind of ticket to the game. Another take is that companies who are able to glean insights into how technology is to be used to further their own strategies have a leg up on others. The case makes the point for saturation of infrastructure, where like in railroads there was a rapid and massive building phase, followed by a capacity glut. Again the take here is with capacity overbuilt strategies must look beyond using IT as a source of advantage, but rather something that is a given, to excel at, but not to necessarily get ahead of the others, who are basically doing the same thing and enjoying the same benefits from IT. Moreover, the insight from the paper is that there is the risk that companies may continue to spend a considerable part of their funds on IT, not heeding the warning from other companies, who are not realizing returns commensurate with the level of IT inve stments. These constitute investment and operational, as well as broader risks. The lessons learned are in this area. The prescription from the article is that of greater focus on astuteness when it comes to investing in IT, focusing on such things as efficiency, and return on investments. What this means for strategy is that more care must be placed on those things that can add real value to the firm and differentiate it from others in the same field, and the warning is that IT is not the way to achieve this. It is necessary, but it will not get you very far in terms of building a sustainable source of competitive advantage. One insight from the article is that that we should look elsewhere. There are problems in terms of actually having to excel in IT as a prerequisite for succeeding, to get to the starting block, but having likewise to go beyond that and to consider