{"id":633865,"date":"2018-08-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-08-21T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/latest-news\/articles\/keys-to-the-innovative-use-of-new-technologies\/"},"modified":"2020-03-23T17:20:07","modified_gmt":"2020-03-23T16:20:07","slug":"keys-to-the-innovative-use-of-new-technologies","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/articles\/keys-to-the-innovative-use-of-new-technologies\/","title":{"rendered":"Keys to the Innovative Use of New Technologies"},"featured_media":636292,"template":"","meta":{"_has_post_settings":[]},"schools":[34],"areas":[16,21,26],"subjects":[],"class_list":["post-633865","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","schools-law","areas-competitiveness-growth","areas-innovation","areas-technology"],"custom-fields":{"wpcf-article-leadin":["In order for information systems and information technology to generate competitive advantages, a series of conditions must be met. When these conditions are not taken into consideration, technological investments can increase an organization\u2019s costs without making it more competitive. If such investments are to generate value, one factor mustn\u2019t be overlooked: people."],"wpcf-article-body":["Companies now take for granted that information systems and information technology<\/a> (IS&IT) generate competitive<\/a> advantages. In recent years, IS&IT and intangible resources like quality and brand have taken center stage, crowding out once-essential resources such as personal contact, low prices, etc., which, on their own, have lost much of their potential in various sectors.\r\n\r\nHowever, it is difficult to measure the importance of IS&IT in organizations. Indeed, the impact of IS&IT varies depending on the sector, the moment, the location, and, in many cases, various elements that go far beyond the technology<\/a> itself. Numerous studies have documented the so-called \u201cIT paradox\u201d: these technologies can in some cases have a negative effect on a company\u2019s performance.\r\n
Organizations need professionals with the knowledge and skills to make more innovative use of technologies.<\/blockquote>\r\nDifferential factors<\/strong>\r\n\r\nIn order to obtain a true competitive<\/a> advantage through IS&IT, the dual nature, widespread availability, and commoditization of these technologies<\/a> must be taken into account. And in order for these three factors to play a truly differential role in a company, certain additional elements\u2014people, in particular\u2014must also be considered. Let\u2019s take a look at these three differential factors:\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n1. The dual nature of IS&IT<\/span>\r\n\r\nIS&IT are assets as well as enablers of capacities. They can therefore play multiple significant roles simultaneously, and each of these roles has substantial implications for the company\u2019s results and strategic<\/a> decisions. As assets, IS&IT are resources reflected on the balance sheet that have the potential to contribute to the company\u2019s bottom line. This is the lens through which many companies view technology<\/a> when assessing its value and amortizing purchases such as computers and software.\r\n\r\nHowever, the effects of IS&IT as enablers of capacities are reflected in the company\u2019s income and on its financial<\/a> statements, but not on the balance sheet. A company\u2019s IS&IT capacity includes its technological<\/a> infrastructure, human resources with technical and management skills related to IS&IT, intangible assets such as knowledge and customer orientation, and others assets that make various synergies possible.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n2.\u00a0The widespread availability of IS&IT in the business world<\/span>\r\n\r\nIt used to be possible to maintain competitive<\/a> advantages based on information-technology<\/a> capacities over the long term. Back then, these advantages were associated with nontrivial learning curves, so competitors had to spend considerable time and effort to catch up. However, given the maturity of most software commonly used in organizations and the widespread availability of services, skills, and development methodologies, a growing number of companies are adopting IS&IT at a faster pace than ever before.\r\n\r\nMoreover, these technologies<\/a> used to be too expensive for many organizations. But nowadays, phenomena such as cloud storage and software as a service have changed the rules of the game.\r\n\r\nCompetitive<\/a> advantages developed with these types of resources don\u2019t last very long anymore. To gain an advantage, it is no longer enough to acquire technology<\/a> before your competitors do; you must also use it differently\u2014an increasingly difficult task, given the third differential factor.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n3.\u00a0The disappearance of the differentiating element derived from IS&IT use<\/span>\r\n\r\nThis factor has been disappearing as IS&IT applications have become more standardized and homogenized. This normalization of IS&IT has made it easier for companies to counteract and even overcome their competitors\u2019 capacities. In some cases, the use of certain applications wipes out any differences between firms. Moreover, since many business executives don\u2019t have the time or inclination to weigh in on such matters, companies often end up submitting to the \u201ctyranny\u201d of the processes and methods deemed most appropriate by the system developer or installer.\r\n
In order to obtain a true competitive advantage through IS&IT, the dual nature, widespread availability, and commoditization of these technologies must be taken into account.<\/blockquote>\r\nMore innovative use <\/strong>\r\n\r\nNowadays, competitive<\/a> advantages based on IS&IT have a shorter lifespan and, as many people have argued, can vanish altogether if they are not accompanied by other resources, such as an effective organizational structure, a productive culture, and the necessary skills to leverage information-technology assets to serve the company\u2019s needs. Superior technological capacities must therefore be accompanied by investments in tangible assets, professionals with adequate skills, and entrepreneurial<\/a> types who can develop better ideas for innovative<\/a> technology<\/a> use.\r\n\r\nOrganizations need professionals with the knowledge and skills to make more innovative<\/a> use of technologies<\/a>, which, in and of themselves, are becoming a commodity. As more and more processes are being automated and standardized, it is easy to see that true differentiation depends on a company\u2019s human team.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\u00a9 IE Insights."],"wpcf-article-extract-enable":["1"],"wpcf-article-extract":["By Olga Broto<\/strong>. In order for information systems and information technology to generate competitive advantages, a series of conditions must be met. When these conditions are not taken into consideration, technological investments can increase an organization\u2019s costs without making it more competitive. If such investments are to generate value, one factor mustn\u2019t be overlooked: people."],"wpcf-article-summary-enable":["1"],"wpcf-article-summary":["Companies now take for granted that information systems and information technology (IS&IT) generate competitive advantages. However, IS&IT are becoming more affordable and are being applied in business settings in increasingly uniform ways. To gain competitive advantages, it is no longer enough to simply acquire these technologies; you must also use them differently. Thus, a company\u2019s IT capacity is not based solely on investments in tangible assets but also on the selection of professionals with adequate technical and management skills who have the knowledge to develop better ideas for innovative technology use. True differentiation increasingly depends on a company\u2019s human team."]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/633865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=633865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"schools","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/schools?post=633865"},{"taxonomy":"areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/areas?post=633865"},{"taxonomy":"subjects","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/subjects?post=633865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}