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IT Savvy: What Top Executives Must Know to Go from Pain to Gain
Digitization of business interactions and processes is advancing full bore. But in many organizations, returns from IT investments are flatlining, even as technology spending has skyrocketed.These challenges call for new levels of IT the ability of all managers-IT or non-IT-to transform their company's technology assets into operational efficiencies that boost margins. Companies with IT-savvy managers are 20 percent more profitable than their competitors.In IT Savvy, Peter Weill and Jeanne Ross-two of the world's foremost authorities on using IT in business-explain how non-IT executives can acquire this savvy. Concise and practical, the book describes the practices, competencies, and leadership skills non-IT managers need to succeed in the digital economy. You'll discover how your firm's operating model-how IT can help you do business-Revamp your IT funding model to support your operating model-Build a digitized platform of business processes, IT systems, and data to execute on the model-Determine IT decision rights-Extract more business value from your IT assetsPacked with examples and based on research into eighteen hundred organizations in more than sixty countries, IT Savvy is required reading for non-IT managers seeking to push their company's performance to new heights.
183 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 7, 2009
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258 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 16, 2012
IT Savvy is a book written by a group from MIT's Sloan business school that surveyed companies that have high-performing or "savvy" IT. The authors analyzed those firms and have come up with common traits and a path for becoming IT Savvy yourself. This book is aimed at senior management (and often seems to be pointed directly at the CEO) and is specifically about how to turn IT from a business cost into a business asset.
The first step to defining your business is to determine your operating model. As the authors state, your IT department can't be part of a strategic solution if no one knows what the firm's strategy is. The authors state that IT has two things it's good at: standardization and integration. Different firms need different amounts of the two (and like all good business school people, they represent this as a 2x2).
The next step is to determine a proper IT funding model. This is divided into three parts. First priorities from the operating model must be established and communicated. Secondly a transparent funding process needs to be put in place. Third, a post-project review process needs to be implemented to provide feedback on funding decisions.
Once you have your operating model and funding process squared away, you need to begin building a platform. There are four stages of this: Localizing, Standardizing, Optimizing, and Reusing. As businesses (and IT) mature, you move from one to the other, and as you move through each stage, you get greater value.
The book goes on to discuss IT governance models (at a high level), how to leverage your platform to gain greater business value, and finally, how to lead your firm toward this utopia. These later chapters were much lighter on detail and heavier on stories of success at companies .
In general the book is liberally sprinkled with examples from such as Seven Eleven Japan, Proctor & Gamble, Dow Chemical, and CEMEX. The book is a quick read, and the framework for thinking about IT governance and transformation is a useful one. This book is worth a read for anyone looking for thoughts on organizational strategy, or IT governance. It's light on a lot of the "how", but that's why we're paid the big bucks.
The first step to defining your business is to determine your operating model. As the authors state, your IT department can't be part of a strategic solution if no one knows what the firm's strategy is. The authors state that IT has two things it's good at: standardization and integration. Different firms need different amounts of the two (and like all good business school people, they represent this as a 2x2).
The next step is to determine a proper IT funding model. This is divided into three parts. First priorities from the operating model must be established and communicated. Secondly a transparent funding process needs to be put in place. Third, a post-project review process needs to be implemented to provide feedback on funding decisions.
Once you have your operating model and funding process squared away, you need to begin building a platform. There are four stages of this: Localizing, Standardizing, Optimizing, and Reusing. As businesses (and IT) mature, you move from one to the other, and as you move through each stage, you get greater value.
The book goes on to discuss IT governance models (at a high level), how to leverage your platform to gain greater business value, and finally, how to lead your firm toward this utopia. These later chapters were much lighter on detail and heavier on stories of success at companies .
In general the book is liberally sprinkled with examples from such as Seven Eleven Japan, Proctor & Gamble, Dow Chemical, and CEMEX. The book is a quick read, and the framework for thinking about IT governance and transformation is a useful one. This book is worth a read for anyone looking for thoughts on organizational strategy, or IT governance. It's light on a lot of the "how", but that's why we're paid the big bucks.
January 24, 2016
It seems like the title of this book is a bit more grandiose than the content, perhaps "The Benefits of a Digital Platform" would have been more appropriate. I did find the IT investment categories beneficial and plan to do some analysis of my organizations IT investments based on the guidance from this book.
June 29, 2021
Continues to Advance Enterprise Architecture as Strategy - Weill and Ross lay out how IT can be transformed from a strategic liability to a strategic asset. They explain the importance of defining the business operating model and the nature of IT support required.
The authors provide four general operating model types. They create parallels between these types and different ways of realizing business value (three from Treacy and Wiersema's value disciplines---Operational Excellence, Customer Intimacy, Product Leadership, and adding a fourth for Disruptive Innovation/Strategic Agility).
Their narrative puts much attention on how a company can progress through four stages of IT architectural maturity on the path to value in building a digitized platform. The authors allude to their previous fine work on "IT governance" and "IT infrastructure as strategy" to indicate ways executives can help coordinate decision making, drive benefit, and lead an IT Savvy firm.
The authors provide four general operating model types. They create parallels between these types and different ways of realizing business value (three from Treacy and Wiersema's value disciplines---Operational Excellence, Customer Intimacy, Product Leadership, and adding a fourth for Disruptive Innovation/Strategic Agility).
Their narrative puts much attention on how a company can progress through four stages of IT architectural maturity on the path to value in building a digitized platform. The authors allude to their previous fine work on "IT governance" and "IT infrastructure as strategy" to indicate ways executives can help coordinate decision making, drive benefit, and lead an IT Savvy firm.
December 6, 2019
I read this book in 2019, a decade after it first published. One sure thing that most IT related book will be out of shelf, but not this one. This book can help guide you (senior level at any firms) to the right direction for mastering your IT practices.
However, while the book is not feel dated for me, the writing is a bit unstructured. This make reading less enjoyable. The core concepts of the book can be sum up within few pages. Simply put, the book just make (what is suppose to be) easy thing difficult. And it is somewhat redundant.
In my opinion, this little book can be better off if it was written as a HBR article.
However, while the book is not feel dated for me, the writing is a bit unstructured. This make reading less enjoyable. The core concepts of the book can be sum up within few pages. Simply put, the book just make (what is suppose to be) easy thing difficult. And it is somewhat redundant.
In my opinion, this little book can be better off if it was written as a HBR article.
June 26, 2021
I try to mix some nonfiction into my reads (this is hard when I’m also constantly doing school readings) but I rarely talk about them! I had to share this one though.
A lot of the content was not new but the book was definitely reassuring. IT, innovation, and IT governance is something I’ve always been passionate about and so I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I think it’s a book that should be read by all executives, but especially health executives so that they can better govern and utilize (and hopefully improve the use of) their very limited resources.
A lot of the content was not new but the book was definitely reassuring. IT, innovation, and IT governance is something I’ve always been passionate about and so I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I think it’s a book that should be read by all executives, but especially health executives so that they can better govern and utilize (and hopefully improve the use of) their very limited resources.
December 21, 2009
Expert overview of IT strategies
This useful book is clearly written and sharply focused; it stays right on message. As its subtitle indicates and its writing style reflects, executives are its target audience. Peter Weill and Jeanne W. Ross, researchers at the MIT’s Sloan School of Management, provide the data leaders need to manage, fund and update their IT programs – information they gathered during field research at more than 1,000 companies. They sketch broad concepts, but don’t shy away from a high level of abstraction. You may have to do some additional work before making decisions about realigning your IT structures, but this will position you to know what to consider. getAbstract recommends this book to every executive, since all top managers now must learn to thrive in an increasingly digital world and to understand information technology (IT) strategy. It will also assist IT specialists who must work with managers who are still building their strategic know-how for the digital age.
To learn more about this book, check out the following link: http://www.getabstract.com/summary/12...
This useful book is clearly written and sharply focused; it stays right on message. As its subtitle indicates and its writing style reflects, executives are its target audience. Peter Weill and Jeanne W. Ross, researchers at the MIT’s Sloan School of Management, provide the data leaders need to manage, fund and update their IT programs – information they gathered during field research at more than 1,000 companies. They sketch broad concepts, but don’t shy away from a high level of abstraction. You may have to do some additional work before making decisions about realigning your IT structures, but this will position you to know what to consider. getAbstract recommends this book to every executive, since all top managers now must learn to thrive in an increasingly digital world and to understand information technology (IT) strategy. It will also assist IT specialists who must work with managers who are still building their strategic know-how for the digital age.
To learn more about this book, check out the following link: http://www.getabstract.com/summary/12...
November 12, 2013
"IT-savvy firms are not necessarily high-tech firms. ... Without exception, these firms use IT to 'wire in' core transactions, and they use the data from their core transactions to inform decision making." (5)
"Many firms spend as much as 80 percent of their IT budgets on running current systems, whereas some IT-savvy firms spend as little as 50 percent, leaving them with relatively more money for new business initiatives." (12)
"Information technology does two things well: integration and standardization." (22)
"What percentage of your senior management colleagues could describe how key IT decisions are made and how people are held accountable? In our research, the average answer is 45 percent. For many firms, particularly less IT-intensive and small to medium-sized firms, the number is 25 percent or lower." (112)
"Many firms spend as much as 80 percent of their IT budgets on running current systems, whereas some IT-savvy firms spend as little as 50 percent, leaving them with relatively more money for new business initiatives." (12)
"Information technology does two things well: integration and standardization." (22)
"What percentage of your senior management colleagues could describe how key IT decisions are made and how people are held accountable? In our research, the average answer is 45 percent. For many firms, particularly less IT-intensive and small to medium-sized firms, the number is 25 percent or lower." (112)
Read
February 4, 2016Written for CxOs, this highly readable synthesis of IT best practices -- replete with practical examples from IT leaders like 7-11 Japan, Swiss Re, P&G -- offers a straightforward action plan for the IT-flustered exec who wants to digitize their business and consolidate their "IT spaghetti." Turned me on to Intel's IT annual report, which is a fascinating read.
November 10, 2010
First chapters are cool, nice examples from UPS and P&G. Concepts from IT Savvy and Digitized platform are well illustrated. From It Governance chapter it starts to get very boring.
Couldn't really relate to the Swiss Re examples either.
Couldn't really relate to the Swiss Re examples either.
November 14, 2011
This book is fantastic. It helps us understand how technology can actually help support business - but organisations have to develop IT savvy. I liked it because it took some of the onus of becomming "business savvy" from IT folks and spun it back at senior leadership.
October 12, 2025
Good book for a framework on IT governance - the title is appealing but I found myself underwhelmed as I read it. It's good for the big picture consultant-speak, but If you're looking for more of a how-to (as I was) then skip it.
April 13, 2012
I read this one for school.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews