Case Study Special: An overview
Connecting theory to practice

A collection of eight case studies that talk about companies that re-modelled themselves into smart knowledge-driven enterprises

From the time of Network Magazine's inception, we have featured numerous case studies of organizations that have intelligently leveraged Information Technology to facilitate its business needs.

As 2002 ends, we are set to cross another milestone of surviving a tumultuous year, which has shown very slow but sure signs of economic recovery. And for the next 12 months we heartily wish you more intelligent systems, better management of IT resources, and higher returns on investments. To assist in these ambitious endeavors, we offer you a choicest pick of the most significant case studies that have been featured in the last 12 months.

Significance
The case studies are significant because they deal with a variety of issues that enterprises have faced at some time or the other. They talk about how the companies have tackled these issues to help stay focussed on their businesses as they transited from the old economy to the new economy as a smarter knowledge-driven
enterprises.

The articles celebrate the success of dedicated and hard-working CIOs/CTOs/IT Heads and outline the strategies that they have formulated and used to extract the best-fitting solution.

Reflections
Choosing eight case studies, some of which we have featured in the past, was a difficult task. If the size of the magazine permitted, we would have perhaps featured all of them because each is unique in its own special way. However, when you read these chosen ones, you can see the issues reflected in many Indian enterprises and perhaps in your company too.

The x, y, and z of it
Each article features a company (x), with an issue (y) which needs to be addressed to achieve benefits (z). The solution, which is usually a mixture of technology and strategy is derived with the help of a series of managerial processes. These managerial process take into account the aspects x and y, and build the road that leads to z.

The world's largest manufacturer of two wheelers consolidates its servers architecture; one of the largest consumer products company in India creates means to extract competitive advantage from its ERP data collected over the years; a large steel manufacturer is determined to push up its bottom-line and succeeds with ERP; and an insurance giant sets up a robust LAN and WAN architecture for speedier delivery of services to its customers. All these companies have a common objective, which is no different from that of any other enterprise in India. They all want to evolve, mature, and eventually grow into healthier business units.

The winning equation
The winner is actually any company that can equate x, y, and z to achieve the correct solution. We leave you with the hope that you can identify a little bit of your company in any of the ones featured in the next few pages. And by doing so you can perhaps emulate or derive inspiration to set a base from which you can plan a solution. Perhaps the lessons that these companies have learnt and the wisdom that they have passed on to us will make a small but significant difference in your world.