Technology is not the sole source of organisational improvement. Productivity results from a combination of inputs including worker skills, tools used, environmental conditions and other factors. To identify technology's role in this equation, Net Impact: United States Private Sector evaluated known business drivers to understand their individual and cumulative impact on corporate-function productivity. The following areas were examined in Net Impact: United States Private Sector:

• business processes and their relationship with technology
• the network infrastructure underlying enterprise applications and data
• measurement systems used to track results at the business-function level
• the conditions that led to the most recent round of technology investments
• the perceived barriers to future productivity improvements

Based on past research, the Net Impact: United States Private Sector thesis is that enterprises that use Internet business applications, have sophisticated network and technology infrastructures, and that align business processes with their technology-enabled capabilities will see greater operating outcomes than organisations that do not undertake these actions. It is this premise, and the need to understand the interaction between these productivity drivers, that determined the specific methodology used in this study.

Update: Second Edition of Study Released

In 2005, the second edition of the Net Impact: United States Private Sector study explored whether the best practices for IT-based productivity had changed in the years since the original study. Net Impact: United States Private Sector study, second edition reveals that many of the best practices remain the same. But as automating business processes with technology becomes more common, leading organizations have to do more to stay ahead of the curve.

The study found that different combinations of practices are required, depending on the operational outcomes the organization wants to achieve. Most connected organizations' customer service and support goals revolve around improving the customer experience through providing more customer service in a shorter period of time without experiencing net increases in budget.

Other key findings include:

• Automation of business processes with technology has become increasingly important.
• The most successful organizations have aligned their technology investments with their business processes.
• There is an increased focus on solutions that enable mobility and remote data access.
• There is also an increased focus on technologies that enhance the ability to serve customers and security solutions that fortify networks and protect information assets.