Carr jumps on utility computing bandwagon

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If you paid any attention to Nicholas Carr's infamous Harvard Business Review article entitled "Why IT Doesn't Matter" and follow-up book "Does IT Matter?" you shouldn't be surprised that he is now lending his name and support to the concept of utility computing. Carr's reemergence on the information technology scene in a new article in the Spring issue of the MIT Sloane School Review is once again generating controversy and debate that I think will ultimately serve as an accelerator for the utility computing concept.

If you did not happen to pay attention to the "IT Doesn't Matter" debate, here's a quick synopsis of Carr's argument: IT has evolved to a mature state such that it no longer represents a strategic differentiator. Rather, IT has become a basic commodity like electricity and, therefore, companies shouldn't continue to invest in IT to create competitive advantage. In fact, they should minimize their investments in IT so that they can redirect their limited funds and staff to other areas where the enterprise can create a strategic advantage.

Carr's views obviously caused a lot of commotion because they challenged the intrinsic value and reason for being for many IT products, services and people.

Now Carr is taking his argument to the next level by suggesting that because IT has become a commodity, it should be acquired in the same fashion as a utility. Anyone reading this column probably came to this realization a long time ago and you're probably wondering what the big deal is.

The big deal is that Carr's views are getting noticed and discussed by corporate executives. As IT professionals, what we read, discuss and experience on a day-to-day basis doesn't penetrate the mindsets of our corporate counterparts until it becomes fodder for their business publications and boardroom discussions. Carr's views may sound like old news to us, but they are setting off another round of alarms among corporate executives. Just as his original questions about the value of IT sparked difficult debates within enterprises the first time around, his new ideas will create more challenges for IT professionals trying to prove their value to corporate executives and business unit leaders.

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