A few friends of booredatwork.com have a class article/ Write up on the value of IT. Basically their article talks about the importance of IT and how it can be used to a business advantage use examples of some of our favorite companies and products. Here is a summary of what the article deals with.
Information Technology is a fuzzy term. In this article, it is used in its common current sense, as denoting the technologies used for processing, storing, and transporting information in digital form. (Piccoli, G., 2008: 41).
Information System is a formal, sociotechnical, organizational system designed to collect, process, store, and distribute information. (Piccoli, G., 2008: 41).
Harrah’s Entertainment
Harrah’s Entertainment is the largest casino resort operator in the world. In the mid-1990s, Harrah’s found itself unable to compete with new resorts that were wowing gamblers with elaborate buildings and attractions (e.g., the Mirage, Treasure Island, the Bellagio). At that time Harrah’s chairman and CEO, Philip Sartre, sensed that customer knowledge and customer loyalty could become the firm’s core competency and differentiation driver. Working with its IT department, an external consultant, and a newly founded group of decision scientists, Harrah’s spent over $100 million to build and use a business intelligence infrastructure that enabled its new positioning and financial success. (Piccoli, G., 2008: 6).
Dell Computers, Inc.
It became clear that the Internet would be a viable channel for economic transactions, Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Computers, Inc., challenged his team to take advantage of the opportunity. The Internet offered Dell the chance to sell directly to the consumer (not just to business accounts), without having to com- promise its direct model. In charge of the efforts was thirty-year-old Scott Eckert, a recent MBA graduate. Working closely with the information systems and technology group, Eckert developed Dell Online, the online store, and an application that allowed customers to configure their machine. As they say, the rest is history. Dell Computers is now the largest computer maker in the world, helped in part by the success of the Dell Online initiative. Fueled by the staggering growth rates of the Internet itself, the online store generated $1 million in revenue per day in six months, $2 million/day in nine months, and $3 million/day in a little over a year since opening for business. (Piccoli, G., 2008: 6).
eBay Inc.
eBay Inc. is Internet company that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell goods and services worldwide. In addition to its original U.S. website, eBay has established localized websites in thirty other countries. The success of eBay lies in network effects. eBay reached a tipping point that is “moment in the evolution of a market where one organization or technology reaches critical mass and goes on to dominate it” (Piccoli, G., 2008: 95). Huge and successful companies tried to compete with eBay and offered auction services but soon they shut down these services because could not compete in the tippy market.
The article will be going up soon, so check it out.
