Over the past two decades, Information Technology (IT) has created a dynamic hyper competitive environment by revolutionising the way business is conducted. Geographical barriers have been broken down and performance radically improved creating greater economies of scale. IT has been a powerful agent of change impacting enormously on the current business environment. The paradigm shift in IT has brought with it the need for increased flexibility, constant innovation and an integration of resources to ensure success. "Organisations that do not make this transition will fail. They will become irrelevant or cease to exist." (Caston and Tapscott, 1992) .
This report investigates how organisations have been affected by this paradigm shift. It is necessary to examine both internal and external factors which impact upon organisations in today's technologically orientated society. For the purpose of this report, five companies were chosen from differing industries and ranging from large multinationals to a small privately owned firm. While analysing issues such as communication flow, knowledge management, productivity, CRM and SCM, numerous similarities and differences came to light. The report will investigate how companies integrate IT systems to provide cohesion throughout the organisation's business process. While implementing this strategy the companies aim to achieve corporate goals and objectives.
According to Paul Strassman there is no correlation between the amount invested in IT and the return earned on that investment (Strassman, 1990). This study led him to conclude that, "it is unlikely that any direct relationship between computerization and profitability can be ever demonstrated" (Strassman, 1996). This report however, challenges Strassman's view. While unable to prove profitability from investment in IT, we can highlight how IT has improved productivity, enhanced reputations and created greater efficiencies for competitive gain.