Book Review: The Big Switch

Nicolas Carr's “The Big Switch” is a must read for those in the business world. It starts with a simple and profound thesis: Computing is turning into a utility and the effects of this transition will ultimately change society as completely as the advent of cheap electricity did.

If you accept this thesis as being true, it leads to a series of likely conclusions. I will pick just five for your consideration.

1. Once utility computing services mature, the idea of getting rid of your PC will become much more attractive.
2. In the long run, the IT Department is unlikely to survive (as we know it today).
3. Anyone employed by a business whose product or service can be distributed in digital form may be at risk.
4. The arrival of the universal computing grid portends a very different kind of economic realignment. Rather than concentrating wealth in the hands of a small number of companies, it may concentrate wealth in the hands of a small number of individuals, eroding the middle class and widening the divide between haves and have-nots.
5. Computerization puts many American wage-earners in a double bind; it reduces the demand for their jobs even as it expands the supply of workers ready and able to perform them.

If any of these conclusions interest you (and they should), you need to read this book.

Transformational Servant Leadership Score (0-5): 4.5