Summary Of It Doesn T Matter By Nicholas Carr

Technology has existed for as long as mankind has been on this planet. The skills, techniques, and talent that allow an individual(s) to improve on performing their daily activities are how I define technology. Technology existed in different forms such as, the creation of the empire from the Ancient Greeks, the rise of the pyramids from the Egyptians, or the use of livestock to farm. Today information technology (IT) is the newest form of technology, which has an effect on every North American. In Nicholas Carr’s article, “It Doesn’t Matter”, he compares information technology to the rapid advancement and decline of outdated technology such as the railroad. Electricity, railroad, and steamboats were the dominant technology that provided firms
He grouped technology into two categories: proprietary and infrastructure technology. Carr states, “proprietary technologies can be owned, actually or effectively, by a single company.” The fact that only one firm has the ability to utilize this tool allows the firm to dominate among its competitors. A company is able to sustain competitive advantage as long as its competitors do not acquire the same technology that will enable them to perform at a higher level. Dell’s approach to building a user friendly website allowed customers to customize their purchase of a personal computer. Dell was able to control the personal computer market until other companies adopted the same model of selling computers.

I agree with Carr’s ideas about proprietary technologies; however, there are also other companies that have pioneered their businesses and dominate the industry. Amazon has been one of the pioneers of the online retail business and is still striving. The company used information technology to innovate to increase their global market. Initially, Amazon’s main goal was to sell books, now they offer video streaming. Amazon brand products such as, the kindle and web hosting are examples of the use of information technology that are currently being
When a resource is essential to their competition, but has lack of strategic power, the risks outweigh their advantageous ability to perform (Carr 2003). In this decade, for a firm to survive among its competitors, the company needs to be operating with the most current and efficient IT available. For example, when Netflix first entered the DVD rental business, Netflix was not a threat to Blockbuster. However, Netflix capitalized on the opportunity to offer online streaming and Blockbuster failed to acquire online streaming. This resulted in Blockbuster going out of business. Currently, Netflix is facing competition from new online streaming companies such as, Amazon and Hulu. Although other companies have acquired the same technology as Netflix, they have sustained a competitive advantage by offering original content that is exclusively found on only the Netflix