World Class IT: Why Businesses Succeed When IT Triumphs

1.2. Example: IT's Saving Role at United Airlines

Nirup Krishnamurthy managed the IT department of an organization not in growth mode but rather in the throes of Chapter 11 restructuring—United Airlines. Due to a confluence of factors, from a bear market to increased fuel prices to decreased business and leisure travel to ticket prices reaching ten-year lows to the effects of the terrorist attacks on September 11, United was in dire straits. United cut costs in all areas of the company in an attempt to restructure its way back to health. Krishnamurthy's IT department experienced significant cuts, which forced him to develop a better means of understanding how to prioritize the company's needs. He worked directly with the business executives ...