Information Technology for Management: Advancing Sustainable, Profitable Business Growth, 9th edition

PREFACE

Mega-forces in Information Technology (IT) are creating an exciting new world. Leading technology trends—namely social, mobile, cloud, big data, and analytics—offer unprecedented business opportunities. When these technologies converge, organizations are able to gain a competitive edge, to expand market reach, to build brands, and to develop innovative features or ways of doing business. Today's managers, leaders, entrepreneurs and knowledge workers need to know how to leverage the power of innovative technologies, media, networks, platforms, services, and devices. They now need talents and skills that were not part of our vocabulary five years ago—or maybe five months ago.

In this 9th edition, students learn, explore and analyze the latest information technologies and their impact on, well, almost everything. Students learn how strategy, operations, supply chains, customer and supplier relationships, collaboration, reporting, recruiting, financing, performance, growth, productivity, and their career success are driven by and dependent on IT-capabilities. Here are a few examples of influential IT developments as well as disruptive impacts of IT covered in this book:

• Big data, or databases so large they can't be handled with traditional software, is the next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity. Big data is produced by companies that track all of our Internet activity, online purchases, and social media interactions. Big data analytics turns ambiguity ...