Riding the revolution - Robert Heller

The ultimate guide for managers to the new, IT-led business environment where technology and its suppliers are changing at a critical speed.The millennium marks a watershed. After 2000, companies will not survive without taking part in a three-fold revolution - in management itself, information technology and global markets. The three feed off each other, but information and communications technology has emerged as the great enabler.The revolution in management in recent years stemmed from irresistible forces: the fragmentation of markets, new technologies, more discerning cutstomers and intensified competition. Now the battle has switched to the supremacy of ideas. And technology - which has already played a major part in the changing face of organisations (now global, interactive, innovative and collaborative) - is now paramount. How well or badly companies are using new technology makes a crucial difference, both internally and externally. Change management and knowledge management have both become indispensable processes.Managers cannot sit still. They must ride the revolution of change. Companies large and small have equal access to the new global networks and telecom products. But managers need to understand how to adapt the corporate structure and processes to take full advantage of the abundant new opportunities.