Demystifying It: The Language of It for the CEO

There are times when IT actually seems magical. You have probably heard that the phone you carry has more computing capacity than all of NASA had when it sent men to the Moon in1969. Furthermore, whereas NASA's IT systems performed a strictly defined set of tasks, you can put your little phone to work in almost countless ways. It can find parking spots where there don't seem to be any. You can use it to teleconference, or trade stocks, or translate Greek. Very few of us today would consider using a phone only to make phone calls. And yet, it is all too easy for companies to get stuck in a similar phase of stalled development, by under-utilizing the powers of IT. For a company in this stage, the IT department exists mainly as a support function. The IT staff are expected to keep the local network running, troubleshoot when somebody can't get their bits and bytes to behave--those kinds of things. And if you were to look at the company's financials you would find a telltale sign. The IT budget is listed under general and administrative costs, which means it is being treated as overhead. In this "G&A stage," as we call it, a great technology of our times is viewed as just a necessary expense--another utility, like water and electric--when in fact IT is the single best lever a company can grasp to launch new business ideas, leverage up income, and leverage down costs across the board. But let's make one thing clear. No shame or fault is attached to being in the G&A stage. For many companies it is a natural stage on the road to IT growth. What is important is not to stay in it. This book shows you why it is so important to use technology to leverage growth and efficiencies, which will lead to long term growth and profit for your company.

Author: Bhopi Dhall, Saurajit Kanungo
Publisher: Forbesbooks
Published: 03/07/2023
Pages: 230
Binding Type: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781950863778