The McKinsey Quarterly

2009

• May 2009 

  Memo to the CEO: Why we need an annual report for technology

  The IT organization and the business units should be much more in tune. Here’s one way to make that happen.

• May 2009 

  Where IT infrastructure and business strategy meet

  CIOs and CTOs should take the lead in explaining how IT infrastructure creates business value—especially in challenging times.

• March 2009 

  How CIOs should think about business value

  Grasping the business value from IT is challenging. CIOs who are successful in this endeavor broaden their scope of action beyond the technical sphere and traditional IT levers.

• February 2009 

  Five trends that will shape business technology in 2009

  The year 2009 will be challenging for CIOs. Here’s how to play your hand.

2008

• December 2008 

  Rethinking high-tech distribution

  Distributors may hold the key to high-tech sales growth in many markets.

• October 2008 

  How IT can cut carbon emissions

  Information and communications technologies will become a major source of greenhouse gas emissions but can abate far more of them.

  Includes:

• September 2008 

  Google’s view on the future of business: An interview with CEO Eric Schmidt

  How the Internet will change the nature of competition, innovation, and company operations.

  Includes:

• September 2008 

  Managing IT in a downturn: Beyond cost cutting

  Looking to slash your IT investments? Consider the possibility that targeted ones might generate savings and revenues exceeding what you could save through cost cutting.

• July 2008 

  Boosting performance in public-sector IT: An interview with a US Defense Department agency director

  David Fisher talks about his experiences after he went from the private sector to the biggest organization in the US government.

• July 2008 

  Building the Web 2.0 Enterprise: McKinsey Global Survey Results

  Companies are using more Web 2.0 tools and technologies than they were last year, sometimes for more complex business purposes, according to McKinsey’s second annual survey on Web 2.0. Companies that are satisfied with their use of these tools are starting to see changes throughout the enterprise.

• July 2008 

  From internal service provider to strategic partner: An interview with the head of Global Business Services at P&G

  Filippo Passerini is bringing the back office into the boardroom.

• June 2008 

  The next step in open innovation

  The creation of knowledge, products, and services by online communities of companies and consumers is still in its earliest stages. Who knows where it will lead?

• January 2008 

  Succeeding at open-source innovation: An interview with Mozilla’s Mitchell Baker

  The company’s chairman and former CEO explains the power of the participatory, open-source model of collaboration.

2007

• December 2007 

  Eight business technology trends to watch

  Eight emerging trends are transforming many markets and businesses. Executives should learn to shape the outcome rather than just react to it.

  Includes:

• June 2007 

  Focusing on the customer: An interview with the head of Merrill Lynch’s operations and IT

  Merrill Lynch has combined operations with IT in a single unit. Diane Schueneman, the head of the company’s Global Infrastructure Solutions, explains how she is changing both to focus on the customer.

• May 2007 

  The next frontier in IT strategy: A McKinsey Survey

  IT executives say that they are now helping to shape business strategy but need to improve their ability to tap innovation.

• March 2007 

  How businesses are using Web 2.0: A McKinsey Global Survey

  By and large, executives are satisfied with their previous investments in Internet technology, and most are investing in trends that promote automation and networking online.

• March 2007 

  The CEO as CIO: An interview with the head of India's top private bank

  Information technology is so crucial for the success of India’s top private bank that K. V. Kamath says he oversees it himself.

2006

• September 2006 

  Managing IT for scale, speed, and innovation

  Companies must govern IT as they govern their businesses: with different rules and metrics for different parts of the organization.

• June 2006 

  Moving IT infrastructure labor offshore

  The offshoring of IT infrastructure—machines and networks and the people who manage them—has been relatively slow to develop. But this is changing as leaders show how to offshore it effectively and vendors step up to meet a growing opportunity.

• May 2006 

  Taking offshoring beyond labor cost savings

  Offshoring becomes a powerful tool for business transformation once companies combine labor cost savings with other productivity and revenue-generating levers.

• January 2006 

  The changing role of IT in pharma

  Pharma's health will depend on a dose of IT to improve efficiency and innovation.

2005

• December 2005 

  IT remedies for US health care: An interview with WellPoint's Leonard Schaeffer

  The chairman of the largest publicly traded US health benefits company discusses the industry's future.

• August 2005 

  Unraveling the mystery of IT costs

  Many business managers don't understand IT costs, but explaining them can help forge a true partnership between IT and the business.

• August 2005 

  What global executives think about technology and innovation

  A survey uncovers shared perspectives on the challenges now facing companies, but IT execs must still sell tech innovation to business leaders.

• May 2005 

  Leading a turnaround: An interview with the chairman of D&B

  Allan Loren explains how he delivered double-digit earnings growth during each of the past four years and raised the company's value by more than 300 percent.

• February 2005 

  IT's role in media convergence: An interview with Verizon's CIO

  Shaygan Kheradpir talks about where IT fits into convergence, innovation, and cost cutting.

• February 2005 

  Managing next-generation IT infrastructure

  The days of building to order are over. The time is ripe for an industrial revolution.

2004

• November 2004 

  When IT lifts productivity

  Companies should beef up their management practices before focusing on technology.

• July 2004 

  The McKinsey Global Survey of Business Executives , July 2004

  The second McKinsey Global Survey of Business Executives finds that corporate leaders are still confident—especially about hiring, IT spending, China, and India—though they’ve tempered their earlier enthusiasm.

2003

• November 2003 

  Flexible IT, better strategy

  IT’s critics say that it lacks strategic importance. So why does technology keep getting in the way of good strategy?

• August 2003 

  What CEOs really think about IT

  Executives in France are taking a more proactive approach to ensure their IT investments bear fruit.

• May 2003 

  Getting IT spending right this time

  Smart IT investing doesn’t require a return to the spendthrift ways of the late 1990s.

• February 2003 

  Fighting complexity in IT

  To simplify a company’s information systems, look beyond them.

• February 2003 

  French and German banking: Showing IT's strength

  All three drivers of productivity—innovation, demand, and consolidation—must be exploited to achieve the full benefit of each.

• February 2003 

  Reviving French and German productivity

  Differences in IT spending are not the root cause of the gap between US and European productivity. Europe's basic problem is inappropriate regulation that hinders innovation.

2002

• December 2002 

  Technology after the bubble

  IT will rise again—but only if the providers learn how to help their customers make money.

• December 2002 

  Transforming IT

  For companies to get the most out of their IT investments, technology and business strategy must go hand in hand.

• December 2002 

  Who's accountable for IT?

  Business leaders—that’s who.

• June 2002 

  The return of artificial intelligence

  Is AI finally ready for business?

2001

• August 2001 

  The future of the networked company

  Even during the present slowdown, networked companies are outperforming conventional ones. They are likely to go on doing so.

• February 2001 

  Fast lines at Digital High

  Computers have transformed work. They could also transform education.

1998

• February 1998 

  A hard and soft look at IT investments

  It’s getting tougher and tougher to calculate costs and estimate benefits. No methodology can substitute for judgment. A new approach: total value of ownership.

• February 1998 

  Manufacturing’s use and abuse of IT

  Research indicates the greatest potential for IT lies in product development and sales. Moving from laggard to star will take two to three years. Seven highly effective habits.

1997

• November 1997 

  Attackers versus incumbents: The battle for value in an IP-networked world

  The datacom market is booming—and new entrants could grab two-thirds share. Next up: using the Internet for phone calls. “It’s the packets, stupid.”

• November 1997 

  Escaping the IT abyss

  Like it or not, you should know the truth about your investment in information technology. It’s also time to face facts about how your organization made these expensive decisions. Then put the business side on the hook to deliver results.

• August 1997 

  Six principles of high-performance IT

  The 1990s have been a time of great advances in information technology. So why are companies struggling with their systems? How a few are getting big payoffs from IT.

1996

• May 1996 

  Share or snare? Managing network businesses

  Increasing attention is being paid to the economics of networks and the strategies of network-based businesses, both in traditional and emerging businesses. Four unique characteristics mean they have to be managed differently from most service and manufacturing ones.

1995

• November 1995 

  Do it, then fix it: The power of prototyping

  Reengineers plan for years—the right timeframe is months. Line managers in the lead. “We didn’t reach far enough.”

1994

• November 1994 

  Being intelligent about ’intelligent’ technology

  How rebalancing the mix of human and machine skills processes can create competitive advantage.

• August 1994 

  Repairing the dialogue between CEO and CIO

  Hands-on advice for getting an essential, value-added conversation back on track.

1993

• August 1993 

  Memo to a CEO: Avoiding the mainframe trap in redesign

  The leader’s role is to turn separate initiatives into a balanced, integrated program of change.

• February 1993 

  Immoderate redesign

  Effective redesign programs balance tightness of focus with lofty ambitions for performance improvement.

• February 1993 

  Keeping CPR on track

  Getting the full value from core process redesign means being able to tell—early—when efforts wander off course.

• February 1993 

  The power of process redesign: A Roundtable discussion with John Hagel, Richard Heygate, Rod Laird, and Greg Prang

  A report from the new front lines in the battle to improve organizational performance.

1992

• May 1992 

  The CEO as organization designer: An interview with Prof. Jay W. Forrester

  In a complex world, to "design" means to rethink the logic of cause and effect.