Does IT Matter? Information Technology and the Corrosion of Competitive Advantage

A Bold Manifesto on the Future of Information Technology

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.

一份關於資訊科技未來的大膽宣言

在過去的十年中，甚至是科技泡沫破裂以來，專家、顧問和思想領袖一直主張資訊科技為業務成功提供了必要的優勢。

資訊科技專家尼古拉斯·G·卡爾在這本雄辯而爆炸性的書中提出了一個截然不同的觀點。他認為，隨著資訊科技的力量和存在不斷增長，其戰略重要性實際上已經降低。資訊科技已從一個優勢來源轉變為商品化的「業務成本」，對業務管理產生了巨大的影響。

在這本引起爭議風暴的卡爾的《哈佛商業評論》文章的基礎上，《資訊科技重要嗎？》提供了一個真正引人入勝且令人不安的賬戶，闡述了資訊科技在商業角色上的變化以及對競爭的平衡影響。

通過對歷史和當代例子的精明分析，卡爾顯示出資訊科技的演變與鐵路和電力等早期技術密切相似。他繼續提出了一個新的資訊科技管理議程，強調成本控制和風險管理，而不是創新和投資。他還探討了對商業策略和組織以及技術行業的更廣泛影響。

作為我們這個時代最重要的商業現象之一的一個改變框架的聲明，《資訊科技重要嗎？》標誌著關於資訊科技未來的辯論中的一個重要里程碑。