Editor's note.(Editorial)

It is so rare for a business strategist and author to make headlines that we almost clap with delight. Nick Carr has shaken up the IT and business strategy community as well as many others with his views on information technology. While he says he expected some controversy to arise from his May 2003 Harvard Business Review article, "IT doesn't matter," he did not expect to set off a year-long debate. With billions of dollars globally riding on the premise that information technology matters very much, companies and individuals have been quick to counter Carr's arguments. In the spirit of full disclosure, he includes on his Web site (www.nicholasgcarr.com) excerpts from dozens of articles both supporting and refuting his thesis. Undaunted by the conflagration ignited by his HBR article, Carr went on to publish a book, Does IT Matter? in May 2004. The article asked, according to Carr. "Can distinctive information systems provide a meaningful competitive advantage to individual companies?" The answer was no, IT doesn't really …