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The author provides an introduction to a series of articles about chief information officers. In the early days of information technology, the chief information officer position was created to prepare companies for a technological revolution. Information technology is now part of every aspect of business and every employee may be considered an information officer. Commentators discuss whether, now that information technology and business strategy are integrated, the position of chief information officer is obsolete.

This article reports on a study of computerized factories in North America. The author, of Harvard Business School, focused on 60 plants in the fine-paper industry. His study concluded that computerization has made factories more rigid, and that a correlation exists between the level of computerization and the flexibility of the plant to shift from one product to another or to produce a range of products. The research indicates that flexibility is influenced by factors such as workers and their industry experience.