The Board and the Next Technology Breakthrough

Despite the poor performance of many information technology initiatives, the inherent power of today's IT makes it likely that it will transform many, perhaps most, industries over the next decade or so. As a result, information technology failures could well kill dozens of large companies. Boards of directors, which have so far neglected IT, need to take new roles if they want to ensure that their firms survive. This paper, based on a study of 15 European and North American firms and their boards, argues that for boards to do their jobs they first have to understand that there are two very different kinds of technology revolutions under way. Boards have to decide which of the two is likely to be occurring in their industry. Then they have to take different steps depending on which of the two they face.