The Executive’s Guide to Information Technology, Second Edition

Preface to the Second Edition

It has been four years since the publication of the first edition of The Executive’s Guide to Information Technology. It is with great pleasure that we introduce the second edition.

Since its introduction, the Executives Guide has experienced great success, joining the top 30 on Amazon.com’s business bestsellers list. It has been adopted as the main text for both undergraduate and graduate courses at nearly a dozen leading colleges and universities. We use it in our courses at Southern Methodist University as well. It received favorable reviews in a variety of publications, including new media outlets such as Slashdot.org. It was even translated for the Chinese market by the Publishing House of Electronics Industry. Most importantly it seemed to please readers, who called and e-mailed us with thanks and suggestions over the years.

Executives Guide: Chinese Translation

We believed a second edition of the book was in order for several reasons. First, like many disciplines, and probably more than most, the information technology (IT) field is constantly in flux. The challenges and opportunities for IT have changed significantly in the intervening years and are worth a new look. Second, as we use the book continually in our own business and in teaching, we have identified areas that will benefit from additional clarification and illustration. Third, we have ...