Rating: 
Summary: Digitize or perish.
Review: This book starts with a framework to understand the meaning of digitization of Business. The concept of Digital Business Design (DBD) lays emphasis on understanding the business processes and then use IT to digitize it. This is a definite departure from many contemporary books that ignore many business issues in the context of Technology.The comparison of performance between companies that are digitized more than their competitors is excellent. The improvement in performance is due to the speed and agility with which we can manage business processes that have more "bits" than "atoms". The case studies discussed in this book - one chapter devoted to each company in every category of business - are well researched. In the section devoted to "Incumbents on the move" GE is an outstanding example. To quote Jack Welch in his recent speech to shareowners in Atlanta -" Digitization is, in fact, a game changer for GE. And, with competition cutting back because of the economy, this is the time for GE to widen the digital gap, to further improve our competitive position. We will do that by increasing our spending on information technology by 10% to 15% this year despite the weak economy."
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Book on Using Digital Technology Strategically
Review: This is not a book on the latest technology fad. Instead, it is about business strategy, and how to use technology to develop and execute the right strategy. The book has three key premises: 1) A business must be run according to its "business design" (the framework the authors use for developing and articulating the strategy a business should follow). 2) Digital technology dramatically enhances the strategic opportunities available to any business today -- even if it is not obvious at first how. 3) Business success (i.e. growth and profitability) depends crucially on figuring out what those opportunities are, determining how to exploit those opportunities, and then aligning the company around executing on those opportunities. The natural audience for this book is anyone who has P&L responsibility (or aspires to have such responsibility) in a business or a division. In my opinion, the message is dead-on. In particular, I think the "business design" construct they use is extremely powerful and actionable. My only complaint is that I wish they had spent a chapter explaining the "business design" construct in more detail for readers not already familiar with it. (The authors might respond that they have already done so in their earlier books -- "Value Migration" and "The Profit Zone" in particular -- but as they themselves say, you must repeat your message 700 times if you want it to be heard!) The book is extremely readable: * The first two chapters explain the basic concept. * Many of the subsequent chapters are devoted to an analysis of a particular business and how that business used technology to its strategic advantage. * A few chapters are devoted to particular digitally-enabled strategic options or themes that the authors believe deserve highlighting. * The last chapter exhorts the reader to champion and execute digital opportunities tirelessly, and gives some tips for how to do so. All in all, a great book for anyone interested in this topic.
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