15.571 Generating Business Value from Information Technology, Spring 2007

Changing the basis of competition, e-Business means doing business electronically by bringing together buyers and sellers. The growth of e-business moves businesses from the place to the space. The familiar components of the place: cash, checks, paper reports and documents, store fronts, and face to face meetings remain important, but less so. In addition, growing in importance is the space where information in all its forms becomes digital and the cost of replicating and distributing this information approaches zero. The business models for e-business are emerging, being simultaneously developed and market tested by firms who are doing business electronically. Subject focuses on how to understand the viable e-business models for existing businesses. The challenges facing existing, traditional, and successful firms that must operate in both place and space are addressed in detail. Restricted to graduate students. From the course home page: Course Description This course covers what every senior manager needs to know about using IT to enable strategy and get more value from IT. In this course we take the strategic perspective of the general manager and study how leading firms get more value from their IT investments. The course focuses on the strategic impact and business value that can be achieved rather than the details of the technology. Issues around governance will pervade the course. An IT background is not required and this is not a 'technical' course.