| dc.description.abstract | There have been significant advances in the development and application of
information technology (IT), both in hardware and software. Such advances
have clearly influenced the way in which organisations have integrated IT into
their business environment. It is widely accepted that IT is becoming a key
element of any organisational infrastructure. Indeed, many like to think that
the level of an organisation’s reliance on IT in the twenty-first century is similar
to the reliance on electricity in the previous century where it was not expected
for an organisation to function without electricity. For example, networks,
Internet, e-mail and office automation are seen as standard applications for
“reasonable” size organisations. For small businesses, stand-alone applications
such as e-mail, presentations and report writing are seen to be essential components for running any business. However, for larger organisations, the picture
is more complex where IT infrastructure plays a key role in supporting core
business functions. In this context, IT is being increasingly used to support
business strategies as an enabler to leverage its potential to gain a competitive
advantage and therefore new markets/clients.
However, there is ample evidence that information systems (IS)/IT have failed
to bring about a competitive advantage to organisations in spite of the large
investments over the past decade. A large percentage of IS/IT systems have
failed to achieve their intended business objectives. Previous studies in the area
of “IS/IT failure” have shown that 80 to 90 per cent of IT investments did not
meet their performance objectives. Such projects were abandoned, significantly
redirected, or even worse, they were “kept alive” in spite of their failure. The
cost of funding such projects and the missed opportunities of not benefiting
from their intended capabilities constituted a tremendous loss for organisations. This dissolution in the strategic benefits of IS/IT is currently forcing
many organisations not to invest in IT for any competitive advantage but for the
reasons of bringing efficiency and effectiveness to business processes. | |
