The Unfinished Story of Tech in Business

Business and technology have shared more than 50 years of evolution, sometimes as partners, sometimes as an odd couple. Were the gains and profits balanced fairly? And how well did we manage to provide effective business information management? This book explores these questions through nine retrospective essays with real-world experiences. Covering key eras such as reporting, databases, information quality, semantics and artificial intelligence, it highlights lessons learned and contrasts between U.S. and European approaches. Looking ahead, the book offers ten forward-thinking essays with practical recommendations for aligning business strategy and technology. It advocates replacing over-engineered, logic-heavy methods with human-friendly approaches, cognition, infographics, context-sensitive knowledge graphs, and robust metadata governance supported by AI. The book concludes with inspiring projects. It also offers 16 surprising takeaways, making it an essential guide for decision-makers seeking intuitive, future-ready solutions. The book is written for business managers and analysts, technology professionals, product and solution architects, as well as policymakers who want to understand past challenges and shape future strategies. Anyone concerned with – or studying rapid technological change and its impact on business and society will find valuable insights here.