Internet Strategy: The Road to Web Services Solutions

Citation

du Preez, M. (2007), "Internet Strategy: The Road to Web Services Solutions", The Electronic Library, Vol. 25 No. 2, pp. 255-256. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640470710741412

Business and information technology (IT) managers have a number of concerns relating to the management of emerging internet technologies to the competitive advantages of their businesses or organizations. Matthew W. Guah and Wendy L. Currie attempt to point businesses in the right direction with their new book Internet Strategy: The Road to Web Services Solutions.

The aim of the book is to disclose the motives and mechanisms of Web services as it is developing and changing by exploring some fundamental issues and problems of society as a whole. The authors hope IT managers or Information Systems strategists or Business Operations managers will find that the book:

• •

  balances systems theory and proven Internet management frameworks;

• •

  explains the strategic management of Internet policies in terms of capabilities of IT in business; and

• •

  provides a good guide to those who need to discover how to apply the Internet for strategic advantage of an organization.

To deal with such a complex topic such as the provision of strategic direction to Internet use and the management of strategic change to emerging technologies, the authors have structured the book into three sections. The first section looks at a comprehensive framework of the emerging technologies process and includes chapters on Application Service Provision (ASP), web services, concerns and recommendations.

Section II includes chapters on case studies from different parts of the world showing how Web services are being used to benefit businesses. These chapters show leadership in the Internet strategic direction and decision‐making and on culture and values – the forces that determine how Internet strategy can be managed within an organization.

Section III considers how to conduct a situation analysis for the future of a Web services business model. It emphasizes the need to acquire an understanding of the future of new technology strategies and the continuously changing business environment and technological resources. It also examines the functional subjects that relate to the management of organizational technological resources. The final chapter recaps the strategic direction of Internet‐based business models and concludes with factors to consider when implementing and evaluating a successful Internet strategy.

The many examples that appear throughout the text of Internet Strategy have been drawn from international business areas to “describe some interesting work … while maintaining the role of theory and case studies within the interpretive traditions of Internet service research” (p. xi).

Internet Strategy: The Road to Web Services Solutions is not a textbook, but it does encompass all the practical areas in which an information system strategist functions. It should be of great interest to IT managers, information systems strategists and business operations managers since it balances system theory and proven Internet management frameworks; explains the strategic management of internet policies; and provides a guide to the successful application of ASP and web services within an organization. An extensive glossary and useful index concludes the volume.