Factors for strategic evaluation of enterprise information technologies

In the last decade, we have witnessed companies investing in financially and laboriously expensive enterprise information technologies (EITs) that unify the internal and external supply chains for the purpose of gaining strategic advantages. As performance metrics data resulting from such investments are beginning to emerge, both practitioners and researchers are taking a critical look at whether these systems indeed produced the benefits proclaimed by their proponents at the pre‐implementation stages. In this context, the well‐managed appraisal, design, operation, and auditing of EITs within the ambit of organizational goals become significant. Provides a conceptual discussion on: a framework outlining a recommended decision process; a categorization of factors that must be considered during the process; and a summary of techniques and tools for the evaluation of those factors.