The information archipelago--plotting a course

Information systems applications in some aspects resemble those of a decade ago--they cost a lot, are technically complex, and take a long time to develop. Moreover, as the technology continues to change rapidly, managers find themselves continually squeezed by a shortage of the technical staff and financial resources they need to keep up. A company can use knowledge of its particular strengths and weaknesses in regard to IS to steer its way onto a safe course, say these authors in the second article of a series dealing with the "islands" of information: computers, telecommunications, and office automation (see "The Information Archipelago--Maps and Bridges," HBR September-October 1982). Setting a safe course requires a new planning approach, for which the guideposts are the company's familiarity with any one technology, the importance of the technology to corporate strategy, and certain business characteristics such as size, complexity of product lines, and the general approach to corporate planning.