Nicholas Carr questioned the value of technology in his provocative Harvard Business Review article, “IT Doesn’t Matter”, May 2003, and argued that IT has become a commodity – necessary for competitiveness but insufficient for advantage.

In January 2005, a group of twenty-two forward-thinking North American corporations launched the definitive investigation of information technology-enabled business strategies for the 21st Century Corporation. IT Strategist, best-selling author and thought leader Don Tapscott spearheaded the IT & Competitive Advantage (IT&CA) research, and the program explored how organizations can capitalize on IT-enabled business transformation. Refer to www.newparadigm.com.

Rena Granofsky, now President of RIT Experts, led the research into the impact on the retail sector. The team developed white papers to examine best practice usage of state of the art retail technology, and developed a framework to select retail technologies for competitive differentiation by satisfying customer needs and wants.

The team also developed six case studies from around the globe, examining lighthouse use of technology for competitive advantage, and applications for retailers in similar and other sectors.

Opportunities abound for retailers to harness technology for competitive advantage. Given the rapid transformation of the industry, including new and emerging channels, the advent of the net generation as both employees and consumers, the globalization of retail, and the speed of innovation in technology, retailers are advised to explore how technology can help them both survive and thrive.