Editorial

摘要

The evolution of information technology (IT) and its early usage was confined to create automation of payrolls, and the accounting systems with a view to speed up operations and more importantly to eliminate manual errors. The last four decades have brought a sea change in our understanding of what IT can do in business operations to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. The need of business computing has led us to embrace IT so intensely and passionately that there is hardly an area or a function in business management that can sustain the pressures without IT application. IT in contemporary business is not simply a tool to carry out 'back office' transactions or to make an analysis of data collected, but has become an important component to design business strategy and execute it. Aligned with market analysis, IT in a different dimension can lead to business advantage over the competitors. IT applications can be traced to communication, discerning the useful from the multitude of useless information, IT in this context in many sectors of economy has emerged as a core competency. Today, the technology and IT are influencing each other and be coming more and more interdependent. The influence is visible in design of machine tools, flexible manufacturing systems, robotics, product design, faster prototype developments, new product developments, service delivery, and management of uncertainties. As a matter of fact, IT has changed the basis of competition. It is a new business model where the IT impact is visible in adding value to the existing products, improved customer service, customisation, and creation of new relationships between the customer and the supplier.