ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the shift from the automating to informating uses of IT in the organisation through the 1980s to the 1990s, and the importance of integration in providing a platform for business transformation. It traces key shifts in IT/IS and organisational thinking and its influence on the strategies that organisations adopt to keep in step with rapidly changing conditions. It states the research questions and identifies the contribution of the research to the wider debate on IT for transformation. The treatment is not exhaustive but it is hoped that it is sufficient to give a taste of the key changes and to provide the context in which business transformation in the retail financial services sector is considered in the chapters that follow.
