The basic concept and scope of IT (Information Technology).
IT actually has three levels: the first level is hardware, mainly refers to data storage, processing and transmission of host computer and network communications equipment; the second level refers to the software, including a variety of software that can be used to collect, store, retrieve, analyze, apply, and evaluate the information, which includes what we usually refer to as ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), SCM (Supply Chain Management) and other commercial management software, but also includes the use of process management to enhance the management of commercial software. ) and other commercial management software, but also used to strengthen process management WF (workflow) management software, auxiliary analysis of the DW / DM (data warehouse and data mining) software, etc.; the third layer refers to the application, refers to the collection, storage, retrieval, analysis, application, evaluation of the use of a variety of information, including the application of ERP, CRM, SCM and other software to directly assist in decision-making, but also include the use of other decision analysis model or With the help of DW/DM and other technical means to further improve the quality of analysis, assist decision makers to make decisions (emphasize the point that just assist rather than replace people decision-making). Some people understand the IT to the first two layers into one, collectively referred to the storage, processing and transmission of information, the latter for the application of information; there are also people to the latter two layers into one, is divided into the former hard after the soft. Usually the third layer has not been given enough attention, but the fact is that the only effective application of information when the value of IT in order to give full play to the real realization of the goal of information technology. Information technology itself is not the goal, it is only in the current era of a better means of achieving the goal.
What does Carl's IT mean? He didn't explicitly mention it in that article, but he mentioned the core functions of information technology -- data storage, processing and transmission. Judging from the logic of his reasoning, i.e., pushing from the development of infrastructure such as the steam engine, railroads, telegraph and telephone, electricity, etc., and using Moore's Law to support the development of mainframes and fiber optics. If he stops there and starts only from this point, his logical argument is very rigorous, and the people who commented later on IT No Longer Matters regardless of support or opposition are basically in agreement on this point (except for those hardware and network vendors), and the author agrees with this point as well. Throughout the article he pays a lot of attention to the IT infrastructure construction part of the materialization, basically no attention to the application level. However, when he talks about the trend of mass adoption, he mentions that "information technology is very easy to replicate", which pushes IT back to business software, and here he has taken a "dangerous" step. When he published his book of the same name in 2004, he defined IT in the beginning of his research and analogy, "I use 'IT' in the usual sense, that is, all the hardware and software used to store, process and transmit information in digital form, with special emphasis on the fact that I am only referring to the technology itself, and the 'IT' that I am referring to is the technology itself, and the technology that I am referring to is the technology itself. I am referring only to the technology itself, and by 'IT' I do not include the information that flows through the technology and the human skills of those who use it", so by IT he means the first two layers. If we stop here, there may not be much controversy (this time with the addition of those difficult software vendors). Objective analysis of the characteristics of the software itself, indeed does not have the core competitiveness of the four criteria in three that is: scarcity, not easy to copy, not easy to replace, Karl himself did not deny and is emphasizing that IT has the core competitiveness of the fourth criterion, that is, there is value. However, he has chosen to make the title "IT is no longer important", a few want to the whole IT a stick to death!
Unfortunately, he in the concept of IT is often ambiguous: a moment to refer to the host network, a moment and then run to the software, in his later books and even often "accidentally" stepped to the third level, completely contrary to his book at the beginning of the definition of the scope of IT, such as the application of information technology, CIOs, and so on. The questioning of CIOs, and so on. Many readers, including the editor of the Harvard Business Review, pointed this out at the time. Many others have since attacked him for it, and some have even said that Carr simply doesn't understand IT, which could be true, since he wasn't in IT in the first place after all. This also gives us researchers also give great inspiration and warning, they are not familiar with the field to apply other methods to research should be particularly careful, otherwise it will make a lot of jokes.
Here I would like to emphasize that there are often software vendors (both domestic and foreign) claiming that information technology can be how to how to strengthen the core competitiveness of the enterprise (anyway, more than what is now popular with what, "keeping up with the times"). I do not know whether they are intentional or unintentional, and not according to the core competitiveness of the four criteria for judging the inference, try to ask a few simple questions: if on the information technology can be how, how many on the information technology of the enterprise has been a loss or even closed down? Especially those who claim that hundreds of thousands of customers using their software software companies should ask themselves. If on the information technology can be how, then we assume that warehousing, warehousing, sales, inventory and other information is accurate, can automatically increase sales, reduce inventory? If not on the information technology before the boss may still be able to see because of the invisible and confused but happy life, then now? Just painful to know that there are so much inventory in the warehouse for such a long time, so many goods for a long time to occupy the counter but did not bring any sales, let alone profits! Analyze the software vendors to promote "information technology is the core competitiveness of enterprises," the phenomenon, the conclusion that there are only two: either these companies do not understand what is the core competitiveness (I think most of them should still understand, both hope that they understand and hope that they do not understand, and I hope that the result is to understand is because at least the software companies can understand some management concepts rather than burying purely technical. Not buried in a purely technical company, I hope the result is not to understand because it can be less attacked by others without professional ethics, do not know the person is not over it), either another plan. General business customers and IT companies between the existence of serious information asymmetry, IT companies and business customers between the game, the final result will often be the second best choice, the so-called "lemon effect". At this point, in addition to IT companies and practitioners to improve their own professional conduct, the government or industry must strengthen the training and education of information technology construction, improve the understanding of information technology construction, the introduction of management consulting firms, supervisory companies, etc. to change the end of the game, in order to achieve a new balance, to promote the development of IT industry more healthy.
Information technology itself is just a tool, like a sword or a good pen, buy it does not guarantee that your martial arts enhancement of how much, how many beautiful words, but also need you to constantly practice how to dance the sword, how to write, information technology, information technology construction also needs you to constantly improve the ability to use information, which is the real core is also the most difficult place. Kung fu is all outside the title! Information technology (digital) is not the purpose of the system to take a few figures, it is only the basis of the core in a "chemical" word, a variety of resources related to the integration of information for "rationalization", "optimization" configuration. The core is in the word "化", integrating all kinds of resource-related information for "rationalization" and "optimization" configuration. For example, the use of historical information to assist in making sales forecasts, procurement plans, production plans, distribution plans, inventory plans, and in accordance with these plans to issue instructions and according to the actual operation of the rolling correction plan. The United States Harrington (Joseph Harrington) proposed by Dr. Computer Integrated Manufacturing (Computer Integrated Manufacturing, CIM) contains two basic views: First, the various aspects of enterprise production, including market analysis, product design, processing and manufacturing, business management and after-sales service is an inseparable whole, must be closely linked, unified consideration; Second, the production of the enterprise must be closely linked, unified consideration; Second, the enterprise must be closely linked, unified consideration; Second, the enterprise must be closely linked, unified consideration. Must be closely linked, unified consideration; Secondly, the entire operation process is essentially a data collection, transmission and processing, the final product can be regarded as a material manifestation of the data. If on the information system but do not use it to assist in decision-making, or in accordance with the original mode of operation, the role of the information system may only be limited to the liberation of certain posts of certain work, such as statistical reports, and at the same time will also increase the work of some other posts. A lot of experience shows that, if the data collected by the information system is not used, it is impossible to realize the accurate, timely and complete information used to assist in decision-making, and the information system can only gradually improve its accuracy, timeliness and completeness by using it. According to the evaluation standard of core competitiveness, to construct core competitiveness, only the integration ability is essentially, and the more outward appearance of the ability to be imitated more easily. The tip of the iceberg, the less exposed the less likely to be imitated, the more can constitute core competitiveness.
As Hal Varian, editor of the Harvard Business Review and chair of the Department of Information Management and Systems at the University of California, Berkeley, points out, "Carl is right when he says that IT is becoming commoditized and no longer provides a competitive advantage. But knowing how to use IT effectively is still a very scarce skill." "It's not IT itself that provides the competitive advantage, it's the people who know how to use it effectively." "Companies are spending thousands of dollars on data storage and access to customer transactional data, but a whole lot of that data is just lying there, unanalyzed and unused, but that same data in the hands of those trained analysts can yield huge returns!" It's a time of abundant data, but at the same time it's a time of poor knowledge!
Thomas H. Davenport, professor of information systems management at Boston University's School of Management, wants to characterize "the past 40 years more accurately as the 'age of data' than the 'age of information'" and that "the challenge is to bring the data to the world in a way that will make it more useful. " and that "transforming data into something more useful requires considerable human investment and ingenuity, but most organizations look at it only from a technological point of view. Having a database or data-mining system is as necessary as having any other technology, but not sufficient for high-quality information and knowledge".
So here we need to clarify some basic concepts that are often confused.
Data = a record of facts, e.g., sales of Series A products in East China were $1.2 million last quarter.
Information = (Information) = data + meaning, such as A series of products in the last quarter of sales in East China than the same period last year decreased by 25 %.
Intelligence = information + understanding (understanding) and reasoning (reasoning), such as analyzing the reasons for the East China sales units can not, or A series of products into the recession, or the company's overall marketing activities lagging behind the competitors strong promotions lead to? Or other reasons.
Knowledge = problem-solving skills (skill), what is the company's strategy to deal with this problem?
Wisdom (Wisdom) = knowledge of the selection (Selection) response to the action program may have a variety of, but (strategy) to choose which * wisdom. Action then generates new transaction data again.
There are multiple circular relationships between data, information, intelligence, knowledge, wisdom, action and management activities.
The same highway, the same high-grade car, driving different people will drive a completely different level, then the more critical factor - driving ability becomes critical. In the primary stage, the competition is relatively sloppy, may be mainly to see who can fix the road, buy a good car. To the back, everyone's hardware infrastructure is almost the same, the competition is becoming increasingly white-hot, this time the role of people came to the fore, just have a good road and good car is not enough, but also have to have Schumacher, such as the top players in order to win the race. Business and racing is not quite the same, racing someone to develop rules, regulations can only run the same road, the competition between enterprises is the eight immortals to show their skills, rich can buy high-end servers, small machines, no money can only buy PC servers; rich can use fiber-optic broadband, no money can only use ADSL or even dial-up; rich can spend tens of millions of dollars to buy SAP, Oracle, no money can only use Kingdee, UFIDA, and even only some of the basic functions of the small inventory or financial software; rich can ask the top five to help them develop a strategy in line with future trends and training, no money can only * entrepreneurs themselves to cross the river by groping for stones ...... Indeed, this is a less than fair competition. But the network economy is here, in Carl's words, IT technology has become "popular", has become a commodity. What's more, the emergence of the ASP model will greatly reduce the threshold of enterprise information technology, expensive servers, networks, software costs of the threshold was lowered at once. Like although you have a private BMW, Mercedes-Benz, you can quickly get to where you want to go. But I can also take a cab to almost achieve the same effect, and then almost I have a public **** car, subway, as long as a very low cost can also basically achieve my goal. But the same broadband, the same set of system software, but the use of the same people, the effect is completely different, do not see the same is the use of SAP, Oracle or Kingdee, UFIDA, there is a very successful, there is a very failed? Or that, kung fu in the poem outside!