0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Thorough Survey, 2003-02-13
I found this book quite helpful for my team. It covers the current issues quickly and well. Although it is repetitive, the book presents a tapestry that steers thinking in IT toward strategic alignment. The book lays the foundation for the holistic integration of IT and business strategy, using techniques (though not explicitly) of portfolio management, continuous improvement, teambuilding, and enterprise architecture modeling.I highly recommend this book. It should be paired with a more enterprise architecture centric book to provide a complete actionable background. That said, the book stands alone to plant the foundation for successful IT/Strategy convergence.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
start with 20 pages, 2000-11-27
This book has a tendency to reiterate the same concepts over and over, but they are 'sensible' concepts. Managing the projects and having measurements for the use of infrastructure in todays businesses is critical. More important is the methods used to weigh the benefits of investing more into a global infrastructure vs. a LOB infrastructure. the second half of the book reads faster than the first, but 20-30 pages a day will get you through it in know time and allow you to consume the message.
8 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
A Two Hi-Liter Book, 1999-06-06
Super book! This book adds value to something most companies are yet to figure out they have or need--an IT infrastructure. The book makes a case that the infrastructure is the key to competitive edge. Sold! I believe it. Read this book and you'll also be convinced.
Regrettably, some of the readers won't "get it" hence the competitive edge. If you don't get, check your altitude. You may be flying too low. In my view, infrastructure only looks like infrastructure from on high. Think end to end. The secret is to gain enough altitude to see it. Believe me--whether you see it or not--it's there and costing you big bucks! So soar! Gain altitude until you see the infrastructure. Let this book be the wind beneath your wings.
Don't just take Weill and Broadbent's word for it. What is your favorite IT guru saying about this subject?
You will undoubtedly conclude that this book is on target and on the money! Read it. Let it soak in. Then start Leveraging the New Infrastructure.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
An interesting new idea - but repeated over and over, 1999-04-30
The premise of this work provides a very interesting and easily recallable way of thinking of IT resources - a pyramid structure the breaks down IT into 4 major areas. The only problem is that the idea is repeated ad nauseum. There are a few interesting case studies, but the 'core ideas' could have been stated in about 1/3 the pages.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
REQUISITE READING for Information Age strategists., 1999-03-30
Information technology has made possible the Information Age. Today, organizations are wrestling with the monumentally complex decisions about how to invest in this ever-advancing technology-investment decisions that are shaping the competitive destiny of corporations. How such decisions are made and how they should be made is at the heart of this book.
The central theme is linking strategy with a firm's IT portfolio: its total investment in an IT infrastructure. The authors explore four approaches to such infrastructure investment decisions, ranging from none to an enabling view that positions the firm to optimize its IT core competence in a strategically flexible manner. The authors have synthesized the approach market leaders take to leveraging IT. This books reveals how IT creates business value, and how top performing firms use IT in alignment with their current and future needs and goals. The book's concluding section addresses how to manage the IT portfolio for optimum business results. The book includes, among many of its nuggests, a useful grouping of infrastructure services into 8 management clusters.
Reading this book is a delightful educational experience; it is also REQUISITE READING for all strategists. Reviewed by Gerry Stern, founder, Stern & Associates, author of Stern's Sourcefinder The Master Directory to HR and Business Management Information & Resources, Stern's CyberSpace SourceFinder, and the Compensation and Benefits SourceFinder.