Technology Paradise Lost: Why Companies Will Spend Less to Get More from Information Technology (Hardcover)

by Erik Keller (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A sober account of the high-tech binge." -- The Wall Street Journal

"A thoughtful view from an expert on IT in the commerical world." -- CVu Journal

"A wake up call for software buyers and sellers . . . Keller takes a practical 'back to basics' approach." -- BusinessIntelligence.com

"Convincing and illuminating." -- Computing Reviews

"Has a higher intelligence-per-dollar quota than anything we’ve come across in a long time." -- SoftwareCEO.com

"One of the best business-oriented information management books I've read." -- David F. Carr, senior technology analyst, Baseline Magazine

"The book's central argument is that companies can make progress without large increases in their IT budgets." -- ComputerWorld

"[The author’s] cynicism seems entirely apropos." -- MSI magazine

Product Description
An engine of the world economy—the computer industry—is sputtering. What happened? Will it regain its power and again drive economic growth as in the past?

No.

That’s the surprising conclusion reached by Erik Keller, a central player in the booming IT world of the 1990s. Driven by fear of being left behind, American corporations let IT grow until it reached one half of all corporate capital spending by the year 2000. Now, chastened by their spending failures, IT managers are converging on a new consensus: to exploit IT competitively they must use their smarts over big money.

This shift in thinking comes just as free, open-source software, low-cost international programming labor, and new technologies combine to make the new approach possible.

A former Research Fellow at Gartner, Keller had an insider’s view of the irrational spending at many Fortune 500 companies, personally influencing billions of dollars of technology acquisitions.

In Technology Paradise Lost Keller describes how the new thinking is working inside some of the country’s most complex and successful organizations, including Merrill Lynch, JetBlue, Harrah’s, and Motorola, which have cut IT spending to gain a competitive edge, and experienced marked gains to their bottom lines.

As it advances, the new IT-think will cause further massive disruptions in the computer business, with fundamental changes in the ways software is developed, sold, and used. Efficiency of IT investment will grow as excess fat is squeezed out of IT salaries, software system costs, and consultants’ fees.

In an unexpected twist, Keller argues that even as IT spending is reduced its importance for competitiveness will grow. Reduced spending does not mean IT has become a commodity. Counterintuitively, companies that spend less in order to get more from information technology will likely be the big winners.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 260 pages
• Publisher: Manning Publications; illustrated edition edition (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932394133
• ISBN-13: 978-1932394139
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,255,949 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New perspective on the realities of software development, May 30, 2004

By	Jack D. Herrington "engineer and author" (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Eric Keller really hits home with both facts and anecdotal evidence supporting his claims that there is a shift happening in the IT industry. HIs claim is that through a combination of outsourcing, project and asset management companies both on the buying and selling sides of the IT fence will spend less to get more.

The book is organized as you would expect. The first few chapters cover current problems in the industry with quality and project failures. Though the outlook is gloomy most chapters end with a 'survival guide' which gives some pragmatic advice to avoid the pitfalls and problems mentioned in the chapter.

The second part of the book lays out a set of IT spending and management paths. The path he would have you go on is the 'path to profits' which reduces and optimizes spending through outsourcing and intelligent use of local resources and assets.

The book is definitely in the same league as The Mythical Man Month, The Decline and Fall of the American Programmer, and the Rise and Resurrection of the American Programmer. I can't say if it's better or worse, but I'm not sure it's relevant. If you enjoyed any of these source works you will enjoy and learn from this book.