IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES FOR OFFICE SYSTEMS

A technology implementation strategy must begin with identification of the potential benefits. Office information systems have generally been regarded as administrative support rather than as strategic systems. However, with advances in technical integration, office systems are developing from a rather narrow conception of 'office automation' into organization-wide systems which do have strategic significance. This paper draws on information-processing theory and other theoretical work on strategic applications of information technology and synthesizes it to develop a model showing four strategic roles for integrated office systems. These are illustrated with examples from the author's research. An implementation strategy must also consider the organizational implications and how to deal with them. Integrated systems have more organizational 'impact' than earlier departmental systems. In some cases, strategic office systems require extensive organization redesign. The relative advantages of alternative approaches to these questions are discussed, and it is argued that traditional methodologies need to be supplemented by a change management approach which can deal with second-order change, such as organizational transformation.