Business @ the Speed of Thought : Using a Digital Nervous System [ABRIDGED]

Customers who bought this book also bought:

Direct from Dell : Strategies That Revolutionized an Industry; Michael Dell, Catherine Fredman (Contributor)
Customers.Com: How to Create a Profitable Business Strategy for the Internet and Beyond; Patricia B. Seybold(Contributor), et al
Bill Gates Speaks : Insight from the World's Greatest Entrepreneur; Janet C. Lowe
The 12 Simple Secrets of Microsoft Management : How to Think and Act Like a Microsoft Manager and Take Your Company to the Top; David Thielen, Shirley Thielen (Contributor)

Reviews
Amazon.com
So where do you want to go tomorrow? That's the question Bill Gates tries to answer in Business @ the Speed of Thought. Gates offers a 12-step program for companies wanting to do business in the next millennium. The book's premise: Thanks to technology, the speed of business is accelerating at an ever-increasing rate, and to survive, it must develop an infrastructure--a "digital nervous system"--that allows for the unfettered movement of information inside a company. Gates writes that "The most meaningful way to differentiate your company from your competition ... is to do an outstanding job with information. How you gather, manage, and use information will determine whether you win or lose."

The book is peppered with examples of companies that have already successfully engineered information networks to manage inventory, sales, and customer relationships better. The examples run from Coca-Cola's ability to download sales data from vending machines to Microsoft's own internal practices, such as its reliance on e-mail for company-wide communication and the conversion of most paper processes to digital ones (an assertion that seems somewhat at odds with the now-infamous "by hand on sheets of paper" method of tracking profits that was revealed during Microsoft's antitrust trial).

While Gates breaks no new ground--dozens of authors have been writing about competing on a digital playing field for some time, among them Carl Shapiro and Hal Varian in Information Rules and and Patricia Seybold in Customers.com--bu--businesses that want a wakeup call may find this book a ringer. With excerpts in Time magazine, a dedicated Web site, and an all-out media assault, Microsoft is working hard to push Business @ the Speed of Thought into the national dialogue, and for many it will be difficult to see the book as anything but a finely tuned marketing campaign for the forthcoming versions of Windows NT and MS Office. Nevertheless, as Gates has shown time and time again, him, Microsoft, and perhaps even this book you may ignore at your own peril. --Harry C. Edwards --This text refers to the hardcover edition of of this title

Book Description
As the cofounder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Microsoft, the world's leading provider of software for personal computers, Bill Gates played a prominent role in launching the Information Age. Now this modern visionary reveals how expanding technology is propelling the business world into an exciting new economic era....how every manager can - and must - stay ahead of the curve...and how integrated information systems can help every organization achieve....BUSINESS @ THE SPEED OF THOUGHT.

Changes are your company has a sizable investment in technology - and is realizing only 20 percent of its potential benefit. As Gates explains, you're probably viewing hardware and software as a way to solve specific problems. But like a living organism, an organization functions best if it can rely on a nervous system that will instantaneously deliver information to the parts that need it. In clear, nontechnical language, BUSINESS @ THE SPEED OF THOUGHT shows you how a digital nervous system can unite all the systems and processes under one common infrastructure, releasing rivers of information and allowing your company to make a quantum leaps in efficiency, growth and profits.

With eye-opening, detailed tours, into Microsoft and other major corporations, Gates unveils the way digital nervous systems - from the simplest to the most sophisticated - are revolutionizing the very nature of business. You'll learn how integrated technology can:
* instantly access scattered information to analyze pattrens and trends
* decrease cycle time and get new products out before the competition
* deliver up-to-the-minute sales and inventory statistics on every one of your products, anywhere in the world
* help customers solve their own problems and, using intelligent software, automatically feed complaints to designers and line workers
.....and much more.

"I have the simple but strong belief," Gates writes. "How you gather, manage, and use information will determine whether you win or lose." BUSINESS @ THE SPEED OF THOUGHT gives you the information you need to win. --This text refers to the hardcover edition of of this title

Synopsis
In his new book, Microsoft chairman and CEO Bill Gates discusses how technology can help run businesses better today and how it will transform the nature of business in the near future. Gates stresses the need for managers to view technology not as overhead but as a strategic asset, and offers detailed examples from Microsoft, GM, Dell, and many other successful companies. Companion Web site. --This text refers to the hardcover edition of of this title

About the Author
BILL GATES is the chairman and chief executive officer at Microsoft Corporation. His vision and commitment regarding personal computing have been central to the success of Microsoft and in the advancement of software technology. He lives with his wife, Melinda, and daughter, Jennifer, in the Seattle area.

COLLINS HEMINGWAY is director of executive communications at Microsoft Corporation. He had been involved with Microsoft's systems products since 1987 and from 1994 to 1996 was director of international and partner marketing for the Personal and Business Systems Division. --This text refers to the hardcover edition of of this title

Back to Digital Frontier
Back to Web and Internet History, Trends
Back to Main Index