In May 2003, The Harvard Business Review published a conversial article by a former editor, Nicholas G. Carr, titled “IT Doesn’t Matter.” Industry chief executives voiced rebuttals.

Mr. Carr has replied to his critics with a new book, “Does IT Matter?” His basic point: At one time, information technology was so expensive and so difficult to manage that companies could make large amounts of money simply by being able to make systems work. That’s no longer true. IT is a utility now. It is not information technology itself that matters, but how you use it.