Chapter 1 • Managing IT in a Digital World 3Explorer) had become the de factosoftware in use in U.S.
organizations and multinational companies. The presence
of software standards made it easier for their employees to
work and communicate with other employees and business
partners, even when working from multiple office locations.
Today, many large companies and now midsized and
smaller organizations have also made capital investments in
enterprise systems:software packages with integrated
modules that can easily share data across dispersed work
teams, business divisions, and national boundaries in “real
time.” Enterprise systems have now been widely adopted
by manufacturing and service firms of all types and sizes in
the United States and around the globe. Software applica-
tions that can access a customer’s database can now be used
more easily by suppliers to replenish materials for that
customer, and customers can check on the status of their
orders via the Internet.
Downloadable applications of bit-size software pro-
grams for smartphones and larger programs for other
portable devices have now also become pervasive. Two
years after the iPhone was first introduced, Apple’s
App Store had 85,000 applications that millions of iPhone
owners had downloaded. In fact, the ongoing success of
the iPhone by Apple is to some degree due to the fact that
more software apps are available for this Apple product
than for any of its competitors. Today’s mobile devices
have therefore catalysts for a whole new software industry
market (see the box “The New App Economy”).
Another remarkable software trend has been the
growth of so-called Web 2.0 or social media applications,
such as profile sharing software (e.g., Facebook,
LinkedIn), cogenerated information tools (e.g., Wikis,
blogs), and information messaging tools (e.g., Twitter).
Although initially these software applications were hosted
on Web sites designed for public communities, today these
same tools may be used by a company’s marketing and
public relations groups for branding and other marketing
activities (Culnan et al., 2010). Similar tools are also being
used on internal networks (intranets) for connecting
company employees across time, distance, and divisional
affiliation (Majchrzak et al., 2009). At IBM, for example,
social networking tools are being used to bridge newer and
more senior employees across the globe (see the box
“Social Networking within IBM”).The New App Economy
Downloadable software apps have sparked a growth surge in the software industry. Apple introduced
the iPad to U.S. buyers in April 2010, and within a few days after its launch, more than 3,000 new
applications were available for downloading—in addition to the 150,000 apps originally developed for
the iPhone or iTouch—including news apps for the Wall Street Journal,New York Times, and USA
Today. One reason for this rapid growth is that there are virtually no “barriers to entry.” Another is that
in October 2009 iPhone developers were told that they could give away their applications on an exper-
imental basis and ask for payment later. By late 2009, Yahoo didn’t have an App Store, but it listed apps
for downloading on its home page.
[Based on Boehret, 2010; MacMillan et al., 2009]Social Networking within IBMBeehiveis IBM’s intranet equivalent to Facebook. Within the first 15 months of its launch, more
than 50,000 IBMers had joined and were sharing both work-related and personal information.
ThinkPlaceis a virtual forum for employees to suggest, comment on, rate, and route ideas.
Within its first 3 years, more than 18,000 ideas had been suggested; of the 350 ideas actually
implemented, over half had resulted in time savings improvements.
SmallBlueidentifies social networks within IBM by analyzing e-mail and electronic chats
between employees who opt to participate. Employees can see visual displays of who knows
what and who knows whom within the knowledge communities that they are a part of.