IT Strategy for Non-IT Managers

How non-IT managers can turn IT from an expensive liability into a cost-effective competitive tool.

Firms spend more on information technology (IT) than on all other capital assets combined. And yet despite this significant cash outlay, businesses often end up with IT that is uneconomical and strategically feeble. What is missing in many organizations' IT strategy is the business acumen of managers from non-IT departments. This book presents tools for non-IT managers to turn IT from an expensive liability into a cost-effective competitive tool. It equips readers with the concepts and analytical skills necessary to understand IT needs and opportunities from both sides of the business–IT divide.

Each chapter opens with a jargon decoder–nontechnical explanations of the key ideas in the chapter—and ends with a checklist summarizing non-IT factors to consider in IT decisions. Chapters cover such topics as infusing competitive firepower into IT strategy; amalgamating software and data for a hard-to-duplicate competitive advantage; making choices that meet today's business needs without handicapping future strategy; establishing who decides what about IT strategies; sourcing IT and its challenges; protecting IT assets against disaster in ways that IT professionals cannot; and recognizing the business potential of emerging technologies. Examples are drawn from large corporations, small businesses, and nonprofits around the world.

The book is suitable for use in the MBA core IT course, and is aimed especially at students in professional or executive MBA programs. It will also be a valuable reference for managers.