Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Dec 03, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Dec 03, 2002 |
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Info-Tech
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Software `IT is about adding value, not just saving costs' Our Bureau
Mr James Duckworth, Chief Auditor of Unilever Plc, after delivering the keynote address, along with Mr A. Lahiri, Managing Director, ABP Pvt Ltd, at the Infocom 2002, in Kolkata on Monday.
KOLKATA, Dec. 2 THE concept that information technology (IT) will drive businesses has been oversold. In fact, IT alone cannot determine changes in business culture and processes. Rather, it would be imperative for corporates to take an integrated approach to business decision-making to be successful. Stating this during his inaugural keynote address at Infocom 2002 here on Monday, Mr James Duckworth, Chief Auditor of Unilever Plc, cited instances of failed dotcoms and home shopping networks whose business models were driven by IT alone. ``Make sure your IT strategy is driven by your business strategy and ensure that all projects are business driven. To be successful, corporates need to ensure that they have a Chief Information Officer (CIO) and not a Chief Technical Officer. The CIO must understand the business and he also must understand the information strategy,'' he said. In this context, Mr Duckworth cited the example of Unilever Plc where deployment of IT helped in adding value, save costs on infrastructure, provided a global perspective of international businesses, helped in global integration and facilitated a shift from a national to regional business models. ``What does business want from IT: Ideas, agility, partnerships and seamless service. IT must add value. And value is a combination of quality and costs. IT is not just about saving on costs but also adding value,'' Mr Duckworth said, adding that a company's IT strategy must veer round the information that is wanted to enable it to achieve its business strategy.
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