This in-depth guide (450+ pages; 10 chapters) discusses the foundations of IT management or IT Strategy 101.
It is assumed that CIOs are "technical" i.e. they have risen up the IT ranks and eat and breathe technology. There are two problems with this assumption. 1) Usually, CIOs have risen up a particular track of technology and do not know all the key technologies 2) CIOs know how to operate technology but do they know how to apply it to solve business problems or create shareholder value?
Do you, for example, understand how IT is influenced by organizational culture? How does IT contribute to organizational transformation? How does IT lower costs and create competitive advantage? What does the alphabet soup of technologies and systems - MIS, DSS, ES, AI, ERP etc. mean - in a business context?
This guide is designed to build a foundation in IT Management - what are the key technologies and IT processes? how do they create business value? It makes the connection between technologies, processes and shareholder value.
If you want to understand the big picture of IT, the key technology areas, the basics of information systems processes, and how to build not just systems but solutions that create business value then this is an excellent place to start.
Ideally, use this in conjunction with the "Introduction to IT Strategy" which presents the strategic management perspective on IT i.e. it is designed to help you understand how IT enables/drives strategic planning, competitive advantage, and business transformation AND make the connection between IT strategy and implementation.
- Chapter 1: IT in the organizational context - how is it affected by the organization and how does it create value?
- Chapter 2: What are the different types of information systems (MIS, DSS etc.) and how to they create shareholder value?
- Chapter 3: Introduction to Expert Systems - in-depth discussion on knowledge driven systems in the context of business value
- Chapter 4: Introduction to Systems Development Lifecycle - how to build information systems
- Chapter 5: How to Design IT solutions - taking an IT vision to systems takes multiple steps. Design is key.
- Chapter 6: IT Operation and Audit - how to maintain systems and maintain their integrity
- Chapter 7: What is e-Business and how to manage them? What are ERP systems?
- Chapter 8: The basics of computing - key hardware and software concepts
- Chapter 9: Introduction to Databases - the basics of data management in the organization
- Chapter 10: Introduction to Networks - the basics of computer connectivity in the 21st century