Information Ecology: Mastering the Information and Knowledge Environment

In many ways this book, in my opinion, was far ahead of its time. It looks at Information Systems as an Ecology than an Engineered set of Components which are created out of some grandiose engineered blueprint. There are many refreshing ideas and insights in there.It talks about Human centered approach to Infirmation systems development and deployment. A must read for people who "philosophise" about Information Systems.

This book offers great insight into creating an information envionment within the company. I think that the numerous examples for real life companies provide credibility to his claims. However this is for people who are building and IT strucutre for scratch or are looking for a paradigm shift in how they do IT? If your IT envionment is not producing results this is a great place to start. It provides the theory to apply to real life situations. Understanding the necessity of Information Technology is essential for implementing results oriented systems.

I found this to be a useful and informative book with new insights, especially in the area of developing a wholistic view of an information enterprise. Most previous books seem to be limited to just MIS departments and ignore the fact that managing information is not something that just happens in a vacumn. I also found the diagnosis section to be useful and grounded in real work versus the "blackboard" consulting suggestions that sometimes comes from academics whose ideas are not grounded in real world experiences.