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Sorry Mr. Carr but "IT does matter"

Hello everyone...

After reading Mr. Carr's article previously published in Harvard Business Review, and the introduction he gave to the serialized re-publication www.roughtype.com:

an article published in the Harvard Business Review in May 2003. The piece caused quite a stir – I documented the controversy as it unfolded – and it continues to be a lightning rod for debate in IT circles
I had two main feelings:

1. His narcissism level is very high - I am saying this while being an egoistic person myself 
2. And this is preventing him from admitting that he had a flop writing this article 

To begin with, I do not agree with the idea of the article that the IT infrastructure development is almost complete, I see his trial to compare the IT innovation to the electricity is unreasonable, and I truly believe that his advise to CEO and CIO to minimize their spending on the IT infrastructure is very dangerous to those businesses who will adopt it... having said that, I do agree with his points regarding the proper spending. usage of technologies, and the reasons to upgrade.

I will start talking about my above mentioned thoughts, by tackling the points I agree with...

• Proper Spending: 

This goes without saying in any investment, and this is mainly why I see eye to eye with Mr. Carr, the idea of spending just to spend, is the golden way to overspend, and accordingly to minimize revenue, all in all will lead to at least minimize the profit of the company.

• Proper Usage; 

Again a common point with the usage of any assets that corporations owns.

• Reasons to Upgrade: 

A 3rd and last valid point from my point of view, and he raised valid points, regarding changing PCs to higher specs, while they are used to do very ordinary processes, or the idea of upgrading just to avoid being left over; both points are right and valid...

And now for the points that I don't agree with:

• IT infrastructure development: 

To sum it up in a very simple way, comparing the IT tech, in 2003 - the time of writing his article - and the current available tech, we can simply prove that his hypothesis is not true, as the leaps taken place in almost one decade shows that the IT technology is anything but far away from being a finished product...

It is developing vastly both in existing technology and new fields, social media, and cloud tech are just two examples of the new tech available today...

• IT comparison to Electricity: 

Now comparing Electricity innovations to other sources of energy might be a valid comparison - although I have my reservations regarding this, if we think of the fact that electricity researches and innovations are still a matter of the current present...

IT is the first virtual infrastructure in the hyper-connected world, it's the base of all the other technological advancement, advancements that come thick and fast in a very overwhelming way, that it is almost hard to catch up with its news, let alone adopting it... while electricity with - as we said - its current innovation run at a very slow pace compared to IT...

• My fear of adopting his advice: 

The last point, imagine that a company adopt Mr. Carr's amazing advice, and stopped/delayed adopting new needed essential IT technology, from the top of my head, I would say that they will risk: losing ground with competitors, being open to security breaches, process activities in more time than could have been with new tech, losing appeal to customers.... among other 

At the end, I am not encouraging the buy for buying, or "hey there is a new product, let's have it NOW"... IT infrastructure is anything but a finished product, and if anything, companies should be on their toes, for the next big thing, that is by all means is just around the corner...

Mr. Carr belongs to the past, losing grip on the present, and the future is completely deluding him...

Dear Mr. Carr, I am sorry, but IT DOES MATTER

A.Aman