| Technology Paradise Lost Why Companies Will Spend Less to Get More from Information Technology Erik Keller 2004 | 260 pages ISBN: 1932394133 |
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| $29.95 | Hardbound print + PDF ebook | ||
| $24.95 | Hardbound print | ||
| $17.50 | PDF ebook | ||
"Offers a valid discussion of changes currently being experienced
by the American IT industry as it grudgingly recovers from the
Internet boom and bust."
-- Slashdot.org
RESOURCES
DESCRIPTION
|
THE BOOK THAT EXPLAINS:
WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE COMPUTER INDUSTRY HOW TO RESPOND TO THE CHANGE, WHETHER YOU ARE AN IT VENDOR OR AN IT USER |
An engine of the world economy, the computer industry is sputtering. What happened? Will it regain its power and again drive economic growth as in the past?
No.
That's the surprising conclusion reached by Erik Keller, a central player in the booming IT world of the 1990s. Driven by fear of being left behind, American corporations let IT grow until it reached one half of all corporate capital spending by the year 2000. Now, chastened by their spending failures, IT managers are converging on a new consensus: to exploit IT competitively they must use their smarts over big money.
This shift in thinking comes just as free, open-source software, low-cost international programming labor, and new technologies combine to make the new approach possible.
A former Research Fellow at Gartner, Keller had an insider's view of the irrational spending at many Fortune 500 companies, personally influencing billions of dollars of technology acquisitions.
In Technology Paradise Lost Keller describes how the new thinking is working inside some of the country's most complex and successful organizations, including Merrill Lynch, JetBlue, Harrah's, and Motorola which have cut IT spending to gain a competitive edge, and experienced marked gains to their bottom lines.
As it advances, the new IT think will cause further massive disruptions in the computer business, with fundamental changes in the ways software is developed, sold, and used. Efficiency of IT investment will grow as excess fat is squeezed out of IT salaries, software system costs, and consultants' fees.
In an unexpected twist, Keller argues that even as IT spending is reduced its importance for competitiveness will grow. Reduced spending does not mean IT has become a commodity. Counterintuitively, companies that spend less in order to get more from information technology will likely be the big winners.
WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY ABOUT THIS BOOK...
"His suggestions for both buyers and sellers of software, are convincing and illuminating..."
-- Computing Reviews
ABOUT THE AUTHOR...
Erik Keller: A 20-year veteran of the IT industry, Keller is currently a highly sought-after consultant and speaker. Over ten years at Gartner he advised more than 1,000 companies including many of the Fortune 100. Keller accurately foresaw many industry trends and is known as the "father of ERP." His site: www.wapitillc.com.Articles by this Author
Grinding Out The Fat -- New 'less is more' management styles and approaches to technology can help companies remove empty IT calories and make the most of their IT resources
Sample Chapters
A sample chapter of is available in PDF format. You need Adobe's free Acrobat Reader software to view it. You may download Acrobat Reader here.WHAT REVIEWERS ARE SAYING
"The book benefits from the author's clear writing style, no doubt
honed from over two decades of creating articles, documents, and
presentations intended for business managers. Keller does a solid
job of utilizing real world statistics and examples to back up his
assessments.
...offers a valid discussion of changes currently being experienced
by the American IT industry as it grudgingly recovers from the Internet
boom and bust."
-- Slashdot.org
"Cynicism about technology these days may be greatest in the corporate
world, especially among CTOs (and their sucker-punched CEOs and CFOs)
signed up for the next best thing that never came. Erik Keller is a former
researcher at Gartner, one of the spend-first, ask-questions-later consulting
firms of the 1990s. His 'Technology Paradise Lost' is a sober account of the
high-tech binge.
Mr. Keller draws the right management lesson that 'technology knowledge is
not as important as operational capabilities.."
-- The Wall Street Journal
"...Keller further mentions several trends that combine to put pressure on
vendors. These include offshoring, the rise of open source, and the tactics of
Microsoft... His description of these trends, and his suggestions for both buyers
and sellers of software, are convincing and illuminating..."
-- Computing Reviews
"If you want to better understand the employment environment for computer
technologists... this book will help by providing a thoughtful view from an
expert on IT in the commercial world."
-- CVu, the Journal of the ACCU
"One of the more important books you'll read. ...We found the advice to be
clear-headed and sane. ...If you're building, selling, or funding software, you
should pay attention to this book.[It] has a higher intelligence-per-dollar quota
than anything we've come across in a long time."
-- SoftwareCEO.com
"A wake up call for software buyers and sellers. The knowledge gap between
business and IT must be closed for organizations to recognize the real business
benefits of software solutions. Keller takes a practical "back to basics" approach
to this important issue."
-- Business Intelligence.com
"Although not its stated purpose, in reading Technology Paradise Lost, one
sometimes gets the impression that the excesses of the bubble are inherent to
the technology itself, and the value of the technology is thus called into question.
Given the extremes of the era in which Keller participated, however, his cynicism
seems entirely apropos."
-- MSI Magazine
"One of the best business-oriented information management books I've read."
-- David F. Carr, Senior Technology Analyst, Baseline Magazine