Business at the speed of thought : using a digital nervous system

504 Pages·1999·46.4 MB·English

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USIN'G A DIGITAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
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—
.
As the cofounder, chairman, and chief execu-
tive officer of Microsoft, the world's leading
provider of software for personal computers.
Bill Gates played a prominent role in launching
the Information Age. Now this modern vision-
ary reveals how expanding technology
is
propelling the business world into an exciting
new economic era how every manager can
— . . .
and must stay ahead of the curve...and how
integrated information systems can help every
organization achieve
. .
BUSINESS
@
THE SPEED OF
THOUGHT
Chances are your company has a sizable
—
investment in technology and is realizing
only 20 percent of its potential benefit. As
Gates explains, you're probably viewing hard-
ware and software as a way to solve specific
problems. But like a living organism, an
organization functions best if it can rely on a
nervous system that will instantaneously deliv-
er information to the parts that need it. In clear,
nontechnical language, BUSINESS @ THE
SPEED OF THOUGHT shows you how a
digital nervous system can unite all systems
and processes under one common infra-
structure, releasing rivers of information and
allowing your company to make quantum leaps
in efficiency, growth, and profits.
With eye-opening, detailed tours into
Microsoft and other major corporations, Gates
—
unveils the way digital nervous systems from
—
the simplest to the most sophisticated are
revolutionizing the very nature of business.
You'll learn how integrated technology can:
• instantly access scattered information to
analyze patterns and trends
0399 (continued on back flap)

BUSINESS
THE SPEED
THOUGHT
OF
Also by Bill Gates
The RoadAhead
BUSINESS
THE SPEED
THOUGHT
OF
USING A DIGITAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
Gates
Bill
WITH Collins Hemingway
o
\AARNER BOOKS
ATime Warner Company
Many of the product names referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks
oftheir respective owners.
©
Copyright 1999 by WilHam H. Gates, III
All rights reserved.
Warner Books, Inc., 1271 Avenue ofthe Americas, New York, NY 10020
Visit our Web site at www.warnerbooks.com
^3 A Time Warner Company
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
First Printing: March 1999
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I
ISBN: 0-446-52568-5
LC: 99-60040
Text design by Stanley S. Drate/Folio Graphics Co. Inc.
Except as indicated, artwork is by Gary Carter, Mary Feil-Jacobs, Kevin Feldhausen,
Michael Moore, and Steve Winard.
my
To wife, Melinda,
and my daughter, Jennifer