“Having spent more than $1.2 trillion on information technology in the United States alone from 1995 to 2000, companies now want to wring the elusive productivity and bottom-line gains from this massive outlay. If buyers are glad to end their spendthrift ways, IT providers of course have a different perspective: After years of heady sales growth, they are now engaged in bare-knuckle competition as the industry confronts sated customers and overcapacity.” Read the article at C|Net News.
Technology After the Bubble
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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If modern companies don’t get serious about their business… and stop listening to all the media hype… they will certainly die off.
Globalization is a powerful killer on the rampage. There is no safety other than what you can buy in Congress. And you hope a bigger fish doesn’t trump you in Congress.
I find it ingenuous that there are still articles about “after the bubble”. What was any different in the bubble vs. out of the bubble? Only the media hype. If you made staples in the bubble, you probably still make staples out of the bubble.
Maybe the author of this article… is just a “make work” author.
What are the real issues facing American companies today? Globalization is certainly one of them. Talking about life “after the bubble” is just noise.
RP
I agree that “bubble vs. post bubble” style articles are simply waste of paper but if you read further into the article it makse some very good (though not original) points about the effectivness of IT.
There are companies that installed massive ERP systems at great expense for both software and consulting only to either abandon them or find they were negative ROI projects. At the same time other companies installed the same ERP systems and received huge ROIs on them. Why?
The problem is not the software, its how the software was installed, the changes made (or not made) to the business processes, and the ability of management ot harness the new power of these fantastic ERP systems for increase productivity.
GM
local and regional business is sustainable, globalization promotes conclomeratization of corperations which is not sustainable and exists to only make a profit rather than to help disperce goods and services.
Okay, the article contains the usual “make work” points:
1. Know what you are doing
2. Know why you are doing it
3. Be realistic about software hype
4. Know who is impacted. Tell them how they are impacted
5. Map out how the company will benefit
6. Teach people how to benefit
Maybe there is only one thing the article actually intimates:
1. Hire good people.
Pre-bubble / during the bubble / post-bubble it doesn’t matter. Most IT projects suffer from a 70-90% failure rate.
It shows the problem is not the bubble.
So, let us please stop talking about the bubble.
The bubble was created by the media, the burst wasn’t created by them. The burst caused a huge depression that cause massive layoffs in the US, some Asian countries (particulary Singapore). Sept 11 didn’t help, although its effects only lasted a few weeks in the economic scene.
So don’t blame it on the media. Besides, I think the major challegde for people in the face of globalization isn’t expanding outwards. It is surviving the huge competition, especially those in once-protected industries (like US and EU’s agricultural business).
Having more or less technology doesn’t really help nor hinder companies. Being quick and being able to use whatever you can get is what that makes you survive.
…our cross-disciplinary teams of MBAs and technology consultants can help design a requisition plan for your organization that will avoid unnecessary IT outlays.
There are companies that installed massive ERP systems at great expense for both software and consulting only to either abandon them or find they were negative ROI projects. At the same time other companies installed the same ERP systems and received huge ROIs on them. Why?
planing, planing, planing….
and knowing what you exactly want from a ERP system. and 100% adjustment of company strategy and visions and business processes and integration to the new technology.
The problem is not the software, its how the software was installed, the changes made (or not made) to the business processes, and the ability of management ot harness the new power of these fantastic ERP systems for increase productivity.
how the software is installed? you must be joking! right?
when will people understand, that IT is nothing more then a support of business processes.
and this is the reason why ERP/CRM/etc is failing in many companies. just introducing new technologie does not integrate the technology into the business process.
IT technology has to come top down (from the management) and not button up (from the it departement). if you introduce new technology from the button up and the management is not supporting it or the company strategy/vision is not support it, then it is allmost 100% a failure. no matter who installed/integrated it or how many $$$ you spend on it.
i am ceo of serval companies and doing business consulting in many other companies. when i come to a company to look at their internal processes, i see very often IT-technology just used for the fun of technology. this is very bad!
i see often internet access (web-surfing) for every employee. why do they need that? wich business process is covered by this? why does someone in accounting need to have internet access? there is realy no need for something like this in accounting!
cheers
SteveB
Pre-bubble / during the bubble / post-bubble it doesn’t matter. Most IT projects suffer from a 70-90% failure rate.
did you know that ONLY 2% of IT projects get finished in TIME and in BUDGET?
and the IT environment is a very technical environment and we still can not estimate how long a project will go on and how much $$$ we need to spend. gee…
$1.2 Trillion dollars, think about that, the US is in debt by what, $6 trillion?