Looking Back and Going Forward in IT -- Table of Contents -- Foreword -- Introduction - All Set for an E-journey -- Chapter 1. The First Information Revolution -- 1.1. Information: the catalyst for the development of the human community -- 1.2. Writing -- 1.3. Counting -- 1.4. Sorting: Hollerith's tabulating machines -- 1.5. Europe lagging behind -- Chapter 2. From Electromechanics to Electronics -- 2.1. The NCR crucible -- 2.2. A company named CTR -- 2.3. IT: a product of World War II -- 2.4. IT: a complex, precious and expensive commodity -- 2.4.1. The UNIVAC venture -- 2.4.2. The IBM riposte -- 2.4.3. The BUNCH -- 2.5. The trials and tribulations of IT in Europe -- 2.5.1. France: caught between state intervention and US domination -- 2.5.2. Great Britain's vanishing greatness -- 2.6. Centralization of IT power and work organization -- Chapter 3. The Dawn of the Digital Era -- 3.1. The quest for new freedom -- 3.2. The colorful saga of major firsts -- 3.2.1. The first micro-computers -- 3.2.2. Sources of inspiration -- 3.2.2.1. PARC -- 3.2.2.2. MIT -- 3.2.3. The first groundbreaking software -- 3.2.3.1. The spreadsheet revolution -- 3.2.3.2. An e-mail odyssey -- 3.2.3.3. The birth of Bill Gates and Microsoft -- 3.2.3.4. The world of games -- 3.2.4. A three-dimensional world -- 3.2.5. Scientific instrumentation through servers: the story of HP -- 3.3. The internet explosion -- 3.3.1. From ARPANET to the web -- 3.3.2. 1993: the official birth of the web -- Chapter 4. Light and Shade in the Digital World -- 4.1. The family tree of the digital world -- 4.1.1. Stalwarts undergoing change -- 4.1.1.1. Honor to whom honor is due -- 4.1.1.2. Telephone companies -- 4.1.2. How golden was my Valley! -- 4.1.3. Integrated software editors -- 4.1.4. Microsoft: an entirely separate case -- 4.1.5. The web generation.

4.1.6. The inescapable consultants and service providers -- 4.2. The slippery slope -- 4.2.1. The victims of the second wave -- 4.2.2. Ousted leaders -- 4.2.3. Micro-computing à la française -- 4.2.4. Broken promises: could do better! -- 4.3. The engines powering progress in the digital era -- 4.3.1. Human/machine interface -- 4.3.2. The laws in the new world -- 4.3.2.1. Moore's Law -- 4.3.2.2. Metcalfe's Law -- 4.3.2.3. Ruettger's Law -- 4.3.2.4. Gilder's Law -- 4.3.2.5. Shannon's Law -- 4.3.3. Machine diversification and interoperability -- Chapter 5. The Promise and Reality of New Technology -- 5.1. IT effectiveness called into question -- 5.2. The value of IT -- 5.2.1. IT and economic savings: can the case be closed? -- 5.2.1.1. The macroeconomic approach -- 5.2.1.2. The microeconomic approach -- 5.3. The IT sector set up as a model -- 5.4. Telecommunications in the eye of the storm -- 5.5. Shifting boundaries and extended companies -- 5.6. Corporate network players -- 5.6.1. The customer is always right! -- 5.6.2. Marketplaces -- 5.6.3. Employee-centric -- 5.7. New opportunities and new competition -- 5.8. The new time/space framework -- Chapter 6. IT Policies in Efficient Enterprises -- 6.1. Reduce the shortfall between promises and reality -- 6.2. Shedding light on IT and information systems -- 6.3. Information governance -- 6.4. Making choices -- 6.4.1. Interoperability -- 6.4.2. Scalability -- 6.4.3. Reversibility and independence vis-à-vis suppliers -- 6.4.4. Predictability of performance -- 6.5. Structuring -- 6.6. Realization -- 6.7. Measurements and monitoring -- 6.7.1. Keys to IT operations -- 6.7.2. Monitoring maintenance programs and new projects -- 6.8. To do it oneself or ask someone else to do it? -- 6.8.1. The rise of purchased tools -- 6.8.2. The transformation of in-house IT -- 6.8.2.1. Purchasing logic.

6.8.2.2. The informed decision not to purchase -- 6.8.3. The merciless world of contracts -- 6.9. Sisyphus and security -- Chapter 7. New Instructions for CIOs -- 7.1. Lessons of the past -- 7.1.1. Key IT issues since 1970, as seen through the eyes of CIGREF reports -- 7.1.2. With the benefit of hindsight: the major stakes of the 1990s -- 7.2. The CIO's missions -- 7.2.1. The CIO-teacher -- 7.2.2. The CIO-leader -- 7.2.3. The CIO-manager -- Chapter 8. New Vision(s)? -- 8.1. Gurus and a New Economy in a perfect world -- 8.1.1. Shattered dreams? -- 8.1.2. What remains of the dot-com years? -- 8.2. The technological outlook -- 8.2.1. What a beautiful world! -- 8.2.2. Open source software: the alternative? -- 8.2.3. Cyborg and the cyberworld: reality and delirium -- 8.3. Citizenship and economic development -- 8.3.1. Unequal access to internet resources -- 8.3.2. The first hesitant steps towards electronic democracy -- 8.3.2.1. Electronic voting -- 8.3.2.2. Access to public services -- 8.4. Developments in the Third World -- 8.5. Security and freedom: what are the real threats? -- 8.6. Press, media and culture -- 8.7. Health and education -- Conclusion -- References and Bibliography -- Acknowledgements.