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Information Gives a Competitive Advantage

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Submitted By fonzy
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The first thing I noticed when I picked up the paper is that it was written in 1985. I was thinking how could anything in this paper be accurate especially when it comes to information technology? Porter and Miller proved to be visionaries in this article but it also demonstrated that it is not impossible to see what it coming in the future and plan for it accordingly.
Porter stated that “technology can no longer be the exclusive territory of the IS department” and the statement becomes more true every day. In fact, nothing in my business could not operate and especially communicate effectively without the use of high technology. Technology has to be used as a tool to compete or you will be left behind. Information can be easily generated through technology and it adds value to a business.
For example, at the business I work at, PrecisionCraft, our architectural capabilities set us apart from many competitors. We would not attract as many customers without our extremely “life-like” 3D rendering capability that people are attracted to on our website. Also, we align the architecture with manufacturing technology that is also the latest and greatest. The technology is becoming so good that it will not be long before the architectural drawings will be “automatically” manufactured with no human communication necessary. A streamlined operation like this is a key to lowering manufacturing costs. Along every step of the value chain, the easier information can be accessed, the more value it will create to the end consumer.
It is conclusive that IT has a significant impact on a company’s competitive position and it has been proven that the companies that have embraced the technology have been the most successful. The advantage will always be with those that use technology as a competitive advantage which sets the course that others will have to

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