Looking Back and Going Forward in IT

Jean-Pierre Corniou is CIO at Renault.

• Foreword by Louis Schweitzer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Renault 9Introduction – All Set for an E-journey 13Chapter 1. The First Information Revolution 171.1. Information: the catalyst for the development of the human community 171.2. Writing 191.3. Counting 201.4. Sorting: Hollerith’s tabulating machines 231.5. Europe lagging behind 24Chapter 2. From Electromechanics to Electronics 272.1. The NCR crucible 272.2. A company named CTR 292.3. IT: a product of World War II 302.4. IT: a complex, precious and expensive commodity 322.4.1. The UNIVAC venture 332.4.2. The IBM riposte 342.4.3. The BUNCH 352.5. The trials and tribulations of IT in Europe 362.5.1. France: caught between state intervention and US domination 372.5.2. Great Britain’s vanishing greatness 402.6. Centralization of IT power and work organization 42Chapter 3. The Dawn of the Digital Era 473.1. The quest for new freedom 473.2. The colorful saga of major firsts 493.2.1. The first micro-computers 503.2.2. Sources of inspiration 533.2.2.1. PARC 533.2.2.2. MIT543.2.3. The first groundbreaking software 563.2.3.1. The spreadsheet revolution 563.2.3.2. An e-mail odyssey 573.2.3.3. The birth of Bill Gates and Microsoft 583.2.3.4. The world of games 583.2.4. A three-dimensional world 593.2.5. Scientific instrumentation through servers: the story of HP 603.3. The internet explosion 613.3.1. From ARPANET to the web 623.3.2. 1993: the official birth of the web 65Chapter 4. Light and Shade in the Digital World 694.1. The family tree of the digital world 694.1.1. Stalwarts undergoing change 694.1.1.1. Honor to whom honor is due 704.1.1.2. Telephone companies 714.1.2. How golden was my Valley! 724.1.3. Integrated software editors 744.1.4. Microsoft: an entirely separate case 754.1.5. The web generation 774.1.6. The inescapable consultants and service providers 784.2. The slippery slope 804.2.1. The victims of the second wave 804.2.2. Ousted leaders 814.2.3. Micro-computing à la française 824.2.4. Broken promises: could do better! 834.3. The engines powering progress in the digital era 844.3.1. Human/machine interface 854.3.2. The laws in the new world 874.3.2.1. Moore’s Law 884.3.2.2. Metcalfe’s Law 894.3.2.3. Ruettger’s Law 894.3.2.4. Gilder’s Law 894.3.2.5. Shannon’s Law 894.3.3. Machine diversification and interoperability 89Chapter 5. The Promise and Reality of New Technology 915.1. IT effectiveness called into question 915.2. The value of IT925.2.1. IT and economic savings: can the case be closed? 935.2.1.1. The macroeconomic approach 955.2.1.2. The microeconomic approach 975.3. The IT sector set up as a model 1025.4. Telecommunications in the eye of the storm 1055.5. Shifting boundaries and extended companies 1085.6. Corporate network players 1105.6.1. The customer is always right! 1105.6.2. Marketplaces1135.6.3. Employee-centric 1155.7. New opportunities and new competition 1175.8. The new time/space framework 119Chapter 6. IT Policies in Efficient Enterprises 1216.1. Reduce the shortfall between promises and reality 1216.2. Shedding light on IT and information systems 1246.3. Information governance 1266.4. Making choices 1266.4.1. Interoperability 1276.4.2. Scalability 1286.4.3. Reversibility and independence vis-à-vis suppliers 1286.4.4. Predictability of performance 1296.5. Structuring 1306.6. Realization 1346.7. Measurements and monitoring 1366.7.1. Keys to IT operations 1406.7.2. Monitoring maintenance programs and new projects 1416.8. To do it oneself or ask someone else to do it? 1416.8.1. The rise of purchased tools 1426.8.2. The transformation of in-house IT 1436.8.2.1. Purchasing logic 1436.8.2.2. The informed decision not to purchase 1456.8.3. The merciless world of contracts 1476.9. Sisyphus and security 150Chapter 7. New Instructions for CIOs 1537.1. Lessons of the past 1547.1.1. Key IT issues since 1970, as seen through the eyes of CIGREF reports 1567.1.2. With the benefit of hindsight: the major stakes of the 1990s 1587.2. The CIO’s missions 1617.2.1. The CIO-teacher 1627.2.2. The CIO-leader 1647.2.3. The CIO-manager 165Chapter 8. New Vision(s)? 1678.1. Gurus and a New Economy in a perfect world 1678.1.1. Shattered dreams? 1688.1.2. What remains of the dot-com years? 1698.2. The technological outlook 1708.2.1. What a beautiful world! 1708.2.2. Open source software: the alternative? 1748.2.3. Cyborg and the cyberworld: reality and delirium 1768.3. Citizenship and economic development 1778.3.1. Unequal access to internet resources 1778.3.2. The first hesitant steps towards electronic democracy 1818.3.2.1. Electronic voting 1818.3.2.2. Access to public services 1828.4. Developments in the Third World 1848.5. Security and freedom: what are the real threats? 1848.6. Press, media and culture 1858.7. Health and education 187Conclusion 191References and Bibliography 193Acknowledgements 197