The Next Leap in Productivity: What Top Managers Really Need to Know about Information Technology
by Adam Kolawa
2.6. When IT Is the Business
First Data Corporation, a leading provider of electronic commerce and payment solutions for businesses worldwide, is essentially a huge IT department dedicated to finance.
Think about it: First Data's portfolio of services and solutions includes merchant transaction processing services; credit, debit, private-label, gift, payroll, and other prepaid card offerings; fraud protection and authentication solutions; and electronic check acceptance services through TeleCheck, as well as Internet commerce and mobile payment solutions. The company's STAR Network offers personal identification number (PIN)-secured debit acceptance at two million ATM and retail locations.
First Data depends on IT for its existence. First Data cannot afford to take IT lightly, and it does not.
"If IT is enabling your business, then it's okay to hire the kids who got B's and C's to work in your IT department," says Michael Blake, First Data's former senior vice president for IT finance. "But if you're in the financial services business today, you need to hire the kids who got A's, because IT is your product and you want your product to be better than everyone else's product."
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