First and most important, let me th

First and most important, let me thank these correspondents (and the many others I’ve heard from) for taking the time to so clearly and thoroughly express their points of view. Whatever the broader merits of my article, it has at least succeeded in setting off an important and long overdue debate about the role of information technology in business. That debate can only be constructive.
Let me quickly restate the gist of my argument, which at times gets lost in the responses. As IT’s core functions data processing, storage, and transmission have become cheaper, more standardized, and more easily replicable, their ability to serve as the basis for competitive advantage has steadily eroded. Given this continuing and indeed inexorable trend, companies would be wise
a strategy. Many companies have taken that approach in the past, and most have come to regret it.
At the same time, I would disagree with Mark Lewis’s suggestion that “IT never mattered.” In the past, proprietary computer systems could indeed be the basis of longlasting advantages, as the story of American Hospital Supply in my article shows. Dismissing the former strategic relevance of IT makes it too easy to ignore how IT’s role in business has changed. And that can lead to strategic miscalculations. As Warren McFarlan and Richard Nolan point out, the value of being a first mover hinges on the speed with which fast followers catch up. As IT’s power and presence have grown, fast followers have been able to catch up or spring ahead ever more quickly. Given the high cost of being an