The role of operational research in creating an information technology strategy

Many organizations are now realizing that information technology (IT) is making a significant contribution to their operations, and could be even more influential. A corollary of this is that they need an IT strategy. It can be argued that Operational Research OR groups can make a more significant contribution than they have hitherto made to strategy, because of their knowledge of IT, their skills and their position in the organization. This paper takes a different view. It explores the claim that Operational Research OR groups do have special competence in this area, and examines their previous contributions to strategy formulation. The conclusion is that other areas of IT development offer a greater chance of success than do attempts of Operational Research OR groups to press for a major role in the development of IT strategy.