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k V Mis column..

;o Th telligence more efficiently than our ";;"
'begtns a three: competitors do. We must; build better ' e

, part series on "| high-productivity facilities and use

/ the strategic im-.'/ ' technology in a better. way. We need to:

plications of fu-
ture compuler
technology and. ' likely to occur in the near future, We
the effect of need to translate these changes in
| these changes on,,. technology into actions that business ,
. people and, in some. cases, govem NI
€ ments should take. fihš"
k For strategic systems analysis, I use a

V use strategic systems analysis to iden: /;

With tt the swift
čhanges occr-
— ring in the com.
puter industry,:

jali — the world of
gej has increasingly become a tech:
nology battlefield.'-

Companies are competing with high-
tech systems, and corporations that are
the first to use powerful new technology.
are often the ones to emerge victorious <rx: |i

on this battleground. Corporations that |

lose the technology battle, on the other, :

hand, often can't catch up because ;

they've been deliberately locked, out of.

the technology.
High-tech computer lene, are in K
creasingly being employed to build
strategic systems. Strategic systems '

li are large-scale computer applications.
| that automate the critical operations,
Il of a corporation and enable it to be-
come much more efficient, so that it"

9% coupled to a model of potential business
opportunities. By linking these models
together, it's possible to build the con:
nections that enable a manager to un ''

imet laki kesithe hem opportuni
o a Ee can we implement,

executives. Strategic systems analysis
often based on a model of the future, iza
model of technology. The model should

»tify the changes in technology that are, ,

" ble by more

"£ (1 computer model'of future technology" liga

, facturing, information systems, govern- .

disks, the Ja m bene IE, can Airlines Sabre system was an enor-
of optical fibers, the introduction of | mous strategic success that; took
neurocomputers and so on. advantage of new computer technology.

If you understand how the basic in 1975, Max Hopper, the information:

- components will evolve in the future, services executive at American Airlines
| then you can ask: "Given these compo- | proposed: "Let's build a system in which
nents, what types of powerful ma- we can put terminals into every travel
chines or different types of machines agent's office."
can we build?" - It turned out to be ex diffi-

'The second part; of the model relates cult to build such a system, but; the net
to new kinds if applications made possi- , result of the iraplementation of the Sa-

verful computers and bre system was a major increase in

new types of ware. Other parts of bookings for American Airlines relative
the model evaluate how new technology zime its competition and substantial in-

and applications will change workers' ases in profit. The system has had a

jobs and also examine the major social signifi icant effect on the operation of the

implications of the Pina! that are de airline, and it has enabled American

seribed in the model. ". (Airlines to become America's most prof-
itable airline.

€ The return on investment from the:
Sabre system is much higher than the
return from flying airplanes. United Air-
lines pursued a similar strategy and was
also successful.

What was the difference between
American Airlines or United and the
other airlines that went bankrupt or
were driven to the edge of bankruptcy?

The difference was that the successful
airlines used technology better. They
were using technology before other cor-
porations realized its strategic implica-
tions. When the other airlines recognized
the strategic threat, they often found
that they had been locked out. Travel
agents already had reservation termi-
nals from American Airlines or United
on their desks and they didn't need ad-
ditional systems.

Eyes on Europe
Following its success with the Sabre š
system, American Airlines started to"
look to Europe where there are numer-
ous small airlines and large numbers of
travel agents. American Airlines set
out to give European travel agents ter-
minals that could be put on-line to Dal-
' las, providing the same service in Eu-
rope as in America. That caused a
great commotion in the travel business
in Europe.
Some of the airlines chose to compete
"].. with this same technology. Others chose
Maryelen Zawatski to hiteh themselves to American's star.
6, Still others decided to ask their govern-
-ments to intervene.
What eventually happened was that
0". two consortia were initiated, each build-
S ing a very difficult and complex system,
: one called Amadeus and the other, Gali-
leo. Both systems are high-technology at-
i tempts to fight off the attack from the
; ei side of the Atlantic. And both un-
lerscore the growing intensity of the
technology battle. s s
Next week, we'1l look at new comput:
er technologies that will have great stra-
tegic importance in the future. H

The James Martin Producti So;
an information service ea?
terly, is available arosoh High neh
ductivity Software Ince., of Marble-
head, Mass. (800) Pira 1240. For infor-
mation on seminars, contact (in the
United States and Canada.) Technology
Transfer Institute, 721 10th St, Santa
Monica, Calif. 90502 (213) 394-8305.
a OU
Lancs., LA5 9BX United
obala 0524) 734 505.

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ME De nedelji čepa iv nered
teractions with major indus!

to ek (beli Vlewa of how they (hin

tneir businesses are likely to evolve. In-

| dustry groups inelude financial, manu-