The Business of IT

1
The Business of IT

• IT increasingly embedded in business model
• Advancing technologies drive new products,
  processes, industries
• IT capability critical to business model
  execution
• Operational results affect business value
  creation
• Requires sound IT management
• We need to explore how
• Changing infrastructure affects business
• Management priorities must shift
• To exploit opportunities and reduce operational
  risks

2
Overview of Chapters

• Chapter 5
• Introduces elements of modern IT infrastructure
  and core IT management issues
• Chapter 6
• Addresses the robustness of IT capabilities
  system availability and security
• Chapter 7
• Explores contemporary IT service models and their
  management requirements
• Chapter 8
• Examines IT project management

3
CareGroup

• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
• Widely known as leader in the use of IT
• Three-day network outage
• What can we learn from this case
• IT is vital to modern organizations
• Network redundancy important
• Challenges arise from infrastructure complexity
• IT leadership is important

4
The iPremier Company

• Luxury goods retailer
• Under attack from an unknown hacker
• Case covers events as they unfold
• What can we learn from this case
• IT infrastructure must be secured
• Decisions involved, however technical, must be
  addressed by business and IT executives

5
Ford Motor Company / The Power of Virtual
Integration

• Century-old U.S. manufacturer
• Trying to determine whether to model operations
  on acclaimed young company (Dell)
• Complex questions regarding how IT supports
  business operations
• What can we learn from this case
• How Dell leverages information technologies to
  advantage
• Potential of an Industrial Economy firm to adopt
  Network Economy IT and business designs
• How Fords legacies (systems, organizations,
  relationships) influence the opportunities the
  company can pursue

6
Strategic Outsourcing at Bharti Airtel

• Indian telecommunications firm
• 100 annual growth in customer base
• Limited purchasing power
• Corresponding expansion necessary in network and
  IT capacity
• Huge management effort
• Unpredictable costs
• Goal a lean and predictable cost model
• Proposal to outsource buildup and management of
  Bhartis telecom and IT network to its vendors
• What can we learn from this case?
• Whether and how outsourcing an essential
  capability can provide a competitive advantage

7
Cisco Systems, Inc. Implementing ERP

• Young, rapidly growing company
• Urgent need to replace IT systems supporting core
  operations
• Legacy too difficult to tackle on functional
  basis
• Implementation of an ERP
• Goal one-shot, minimal customization
• Budget of 15million and 9 months
• Elements of implementation
• People and partners, roles and structures,
  processes and infrastructure
• What can we learn from this case?
• The importance of IT in building a operating
  platform for growth
• An implementation approach to high-risk,
  high-reward IT initiatives