Portfolio
What, Me Worry? You Bet!
Source: eWeek Published: Aug 2003
George Schussel rebuts the viewpoint expressed by Nicholas G. Carr in the Harvard Business Review article “IT Doesn’t Matter” (May 2003). Carr argues that the IT industry is rapidly moving toward commodity status. He says IT is reaching the level of railroads and electrical power. Schussel disagrees and states that “The most successful companies of our time have achieved their success on the back of a superior investment in and strategy for IT. Winners such as Wal-Mart, Dell, Expedia, eBay, FedEx and UPS have built hugely successful enterprises in this way…Strategic IT is, by definition, not a commodity. If we starve our investment in IT, we can’t count on the rest of the world to stand still. For some companies, the answer is outsourcing…This isn’t good. Once you’ve outsourced everything, you’ve made Carr’s vision your reality. Where is your competitive advantage? Maybe you should worry.”
