Part - I

Introduction

It is now a decade since IT first started coming into focus in a major way. There has been a paradigm shift in the way organizations function. Business processes have undergone radical changes and working styles have changed dramatically. IT has been the major force driving organizational change. Systems like ERP and SCM have integrated business functions seamlessly and provided a consistent platform on which organizations run. In most organizations, IT today forms the backbone of operations.

In a scenario of eight years ago, IT was a strategic advantage. IT provided firms with that cutting edge and was viewed as a tool of gaining strategic advantage over your competitor. Garnering the First Mover Advantage was crucial. Firms were looking to outpace each other in going hi-tech and IT-enabling their business processes.

In these times, IT budgets were enormous. Most firms had virtually left no strings on their IT budgets. All these factors combined to give a tremendous boost to IT spending and hence the industries dependent on it; like software and dotcoms.

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* Contributed by -
Mrugendra Shintre,
Manoj Kumar Gaddam,
II Year,
IIM Lucknow.