The idea of three areas, FIT, NIT and EIT, is good but simplifies the realities of IT. Online CRMÂ’s such as salesforce.com fit into all there of these areas. First, FIT, it becomes a useful and standard application for Sales, Marketing and management. Second, it facilitates online collaboration with structure between employees and departments. Third, and finally, Salesforce.com allows EIT through standardization and collaboration across departments.

That text book smell – Many of the examples given here are from 2004 and earlier. That was a lifetime ago. In real-world terms today, what Cisco and CVS did is straight out of the ice age. For Cisco to take three years to reduce their ERP systems from 9 to 1 is a waste of time and money. Today, there are better technologies and solutions to help companies make better decisions. Where are those examples?

The biggest and simplest message that the article has to offer is the idea of knowing business goals and developing IT strategies that support these goals. That is true and should be exercised by every company in the world. Unfortunately, many companies do implement new technologies based on what other companies, analysts and journalists think. In the past year alone, hundreds of CIO’s have told me that the biggest reason for implementing SOA is that others have told them that they need to. Whether you call it outside-in or inside-out – that stench will linger for a long time.