IT prefigures marketing by 20 years

The IT industry has seen massive change in the past 20 years. Clearly the technology has advanced in all directions. But I think the biggest change has been the role that IT plays in business. There are few firms, big or small, than function without some form of IT. Some industries, such as financial services, are now completely dependent upon it. It is now typically regarded as a strategic asset underpinning operations, sometime even offering competitive advantage.

It wasn’t always thus. IT argued its importance for most of the eighties and nineties. Should the IT director have a seat on the board? Is IT just a cost centre, or can it add business value? Why does IT cost so much, yet appear to deliver so little?

Most firms adopting technology did so with blind faith, many projects failed to deliver benefits (other than to the vendors), and the industry’s reputation was low.

Most of these issues are now solvable, due to increased professionalism, better measurement and improved management. Importantly, there is also a wider understanding of the benefits and limitations of IT throughout business, not just within the IT industry. It’s not that these issues have gone away –