The Art of Strategic Planning for Information Technology, 2nd Edition [Hardcover]

Bernard H. Boar (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471376558 | ISBN-13: 978-0471376552 | Publication Date: November 10, 2000 | Edition: 2

A revision of the bestselling book that shows IT departments how to take on new challenges
As technology becomes more mainstream and accessible, companies must develop new ways to use their IT resources in order to compete. In this extensive revision, IT expert Bernard Boar provides a methodology that shows readers how to use IT as a competitive business asset. He tackles the latest challenges facing IT departments over the next several years, including how to devise a complete strategy to make the department more effective and how to choose the best strategy framework for a company. Boar also shows how technologies like e-commerce, data warehousing, architectures, and Java can be used to make a business more competitive.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The acclaimed IT strategic planning methodology now completely revised for the new millennium!

Bernard Boar, internationally recognized expert and IT consultant for Fortune 500 companies, overhauls his bestselling book on IT strategy to help IT professionals take on the new challenges of the hyper-competitive digital age. From assessing your business needs to setting objectives to putting your plan into gear, Boar takes you through the entire strategic planning process, showing you not only how to run your department more efficiently but also how to leverage IT resources to ensure a competitive advantage for your company.

With 50 percent new material in this edition, you’ll discover a wealth of proven tools and techniques for using IT as a competitive business asset, including:

• Analytical methods to help identify areas in need of strategic planning
• How to choose the best strategy framework for your company from five different frameworks
• Quality control checks that every IT manager must know
• How to take advantage of such technologies as e-commerce, data warehousing, architectures, and Java to help your business succeed
• How to administer the process from concept to implementation while involving all areas of the enterprise

About the Author

BERNARD BOAR is Vice President for Strategic Solutions at RCG Information Technology where he implements and teaches the strategy discussed in his books. A frequent speaker at conferences and lectures, he consults about his methodology all over the world. Boar is also the author of Constructing Blueprints for Enterprise IT Architectures, Strategic Thinking for Information Technology, and Practical Steps for Aligning Information Technology with Business Strategies (all from Wiley).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 2 edition (November 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471376558
• ISBN-13: 978-0471376552
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,239,259 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A very good attempt to intewave IT startegy to Business, October 6, 2003

By 

C K Venkatraman "Venkat" (India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Strategic Planning for Information Technology, 2nd Edition (Hardcover)

In my 23 years of experience of working in IT, I would say that this is the first book on IT strategy that attempts to make IT a PART of startegic intent of the business.

No doubt, the book is hard to read and comprehend, but the effort is worth it.

I would have given it an higher rating but for the fact that practical examples is missing which would have made the book more complete.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good toolkit for IT Strategic Planning, August 21, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Art of Strategic Planning for Information Technology, 2nd Edition (Hardcover)

This book present Strategic Planning as a combination of cartesian analysis and art. The author draw a lot on the principles found in classics in the area, namely the Art of War from Sun Tzu and The Prince from Machiavelli.
I personally liked this book: it provides the basic toolkit to do the job. Strategic planning is clearly presented as a forward looking process dealing with mega-issues - not a cumbersome process that generate lots of documentations that nobody read.
If you are looking for detailed checklists and documentation templates, this is not the rigth book for you.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Too theoritical and far too convoluted, May 4, 2002

By 

Joseph M. Smyth (Bellevue, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Art of Strategic Planning for Information Technology, 2nd Edition (Hardcover)

This book uses convoluted methods to explain strategic planning. It is all theory without any examples of how to use the author's methods (probably because even he couldn't figure them out!). Avoid it like the plague, if you can. Unfortunately, it's required reading for a textbook for some IT strategic planning classes.