How to Use Information Technology in Business

I’m sure you’ve all heard of this topic – IT or Information Technology in Business. Yes, it’s a technology driven world out there. Given technology changes due to such things as Sarbanes Oxley, you will eventually have to align your business processes with your technology. Perhaps you are waiting because technology is expensive. Well, the amazing thing is that it’s getting cheaper all the time. A lot cheaper.

Technological Advancements

If you’ve got kids then you are probably aware of video game technology like the Xbox. But have you ever stopped to look at what’s under the hood of one of those boxes? In November 2013 the latest Xbox One was released. I mean we are talking about a powerful gaming console. It uses the latest eight-core 1.75 GHz cell AMD custom 64-bit processor with full wireless, HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, and Blu-Ray/DVD high-definition video. The Xbox One is built to communicate with servers in the cloud to increase the computational potential of the system.

The technical specifications surpass most desktop PCs. A brand new, $400 computer can’t hope to keep up with the Xbox running at 1.31 teraflops (Floating Point Operations Per Second). So while you work all day on an average computer, your kids will be playing – that’s right, playing – with a super computer that will retail for around $399.

Now this article is not about computing performance and flops is not the whole story. Besides, unlike a desktop PC, the Xbox One is tuned for high-definition video gaming. But still, what could your business do with supercomputing power on your desktop for $399? You may have to think outside the box for the answer to that one. And that’s one of the things your organizational leadership should be looking at in developing your strategy.

Information Technology in Business

Technological performance is doubling every year and yet the cost of that performance actually falls so the result is more bang for your buck. The question is, how are you using this technology to release the growth in your business, improve your processes, and deliver better results?

Information Deployment

You see, it is not just about Information Technology in business. It’s about the quality of the business processes and their associated information interactions that are delivered over the technology that is really important, not the technology infrastructure itself.

What we should really be talking about is Information Deployment — how you create, capture, deliver, use and measure your business information. Information Deployment is the strategic differentiator that your business processes require. Information Technology in business is now a commodity. But your business processes are your business.