Information Technology as a Strategic Means to Pursue Profitable Competitveness

Introduction. The first introduction of "electronic calculator" dates back to the early Fifties. In almost four decades we have been witnessing an astonishing development in all the areas which form the I.T. backbone: hardware, software, communication, performance. About hardware and software I hope the reader will agree that there isn't any need to further list the "mirabilia" which are in ever increasing quantity and quality at our disposal practically every day. Also this is, I believe, the engineers' own territory, as communication and performance are, I hold, the I.T. users' ones. For "users" I mean those who think either tactically or strategically about the best way of effectively deploy I.T. resources within a firm and are concerned with all the problems that such a task carries with it. Communication is, in I.T. sense, the core concept to pin-point. For as long as hardware and software power and capability are enhanced, still the way in which these resources can be best used remains in the interaction between different I.T. applications, that is tantamount to say, between different human needs. In this respect every author agrees that a stand-alone information system, as the mythical firm in the perfect market of the classical economics writers is simply something that has never existed. Integration has been emerging in the last five to ten years as the trend of current approach of I.T. use. Performance is seen by many authors as the end towards which I.T. is a powerful means. I hold that every application of I.T. is considered worth only if, among other factors, its "internal" performance outperforms any previous "system" already running or any would-be substitute. Hence, performance is the fourth basic component - a means - of any successful I.T. deployment - the end. This point of view explains also why I.T. finds increasing space in the business environment, for it is seen as an "unicum" capable of giving a real boost in the firm's activities, at every level. In the following pages I synthesize the views of many leading authors and practitioners about how to improve the communication aspect of I.T. and how to make the best use of I.T. as a "competitive weapon". Firms have been always competing: I.T. is proving a successful aid - at times. It is not, fortunately I believe, a "panacea". It is still up to the human beings to make the difference, and often a very big one indeed.