Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Epilogue
We look for things. Things that make us go.
—Pakled Captain Grebnedlog
We want a better world.
We want a world where food is safer and tastes better.
We want a world where deliveries happen on time.
We want a world where visiting the Department of Motor Vehicles is a fast and efficient
process.
We want a world where relationships are stronger, more meaningful, and more loving.
We want a world where we are happier in our jobs.
We want a world where the gloriously fanciful ideas of visionary science fiction become
the real-life products and experiences available to everyone.
We want a world without war, hunger, poverty, and hate.
We want a world where optimism, science, and truth win out over pessimism, ignorance,
and lies.
We want a world where everyone works together for the betterment of all.
We, the authors of this topic, were born when computers could not fit on a desktop, let
alone in a pocket. As youths, we saw the rise of computers and felt deep in our hearts that
technology would save the world. As adults, we've seen technology transform the world,
make it smaller, and enable us to do things that our parents would never have dreamed of.
Nowwerealizethatcomputersandsoftwarearejustasmallpieceofthepicture.Tomake
the world a better place requires operational practices that bring all the parts together, that
bring all the people together, to run it and maintain it and keep it going.
People say that software “eats” one industry at a time, disrupting and revolutionizing it.
When that happens, it is the operational practices that determine success or failure.
The logistics of producing and distributing food is now a software function. From the
farm to the dinner table, better software makes it possible to grow more with fewer re-
sources, harvest it at the right time, and transport it. Because the operational practices are
successful,weeatawidervarietyoffoodthatisfresherandlessexpensivethaneverbefore.
What looks like the simple act of buying something online requires a chain of organiza-
tions working together: raw material suppliers, factories, distribution, sales, marketing, pur-
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