It Doesn't Matter, Defending Carr's Position

Carr, N. ( May 2003). IT Doesn’t Matter. Harvard Business Review, pp. 41-49 http://blackboard.gwu.edu

Article Summary

Carr asserts that “as IT’s power and presence have expanded, companies have come to view it as a resource ever more critical to their success, a fact clearly reflected in their spending habits”. (p. 41) He follows this by taking us on a journey of the “commoditization of IT”, showing how it has been adopted and incorporated into the business model like previous infrastructural technologies. He also asserts, thru recent studies, that there is no connection to greater IT expenditures and superior financial results. This pushes Carr to his ultimate conclusion, which I support in this review, that “IT doesn’t matter”.

Introduction

The United States has gone through a remarkable transformation in the last 200 years. Beginning as an agricultural society, the industrial revolution pushed the country towards production and manufacturing. However, over the last 20 years we have gone through yet another transformation and now find ourselves in what has been called the “Information Era”. (Lallana 2003) Toffler asserts that as we have moved from the industrial age to the information age, “the control of knowledge is the crux of tomorrow’s worldwide struggle for power in every human institution. He who controls access to knowledge has power.” (Toffler 1990) But with the proliferation of information technology in nearly every aspect of modern business and culture, Carr raises concerns that the advantage once cherished by those on the cutting edge of IT has been marginalized if not completely lost.

Reaction

Reaction to Carr’s article in both business and academic circles was swift and within weeks, “Carr was branded a heretic by many technologists, consultants and –especially—computer industry executives.” (Lohr 2004) Paul Strassman, then Executive Advisor at NASA having served as CIO of General Foods, Craft, and Xerox had this to say:...