Managing Customer-Centric Information: The Challenges of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Deployment in Service Environments

Despite many years of business-orientated information and communication technology (ICT) deployment, contemporary organisations continue to struggle with customer-centric implementation of new technologies that are profitable and contribute to sustainable service business success. This paper reviews the difficulties inherent in using ICTs to manage customer-related information, and identifies the particular challenges for customer-centric deployment of ICTs. It provides a model of different levels of customer centric information use in organizations. The authors review implications for future research in this emerging area and conclude that the challenges of ICT deployment and use must be addressed with an uncompromising focus on customer value as the central principle of both ICT design and deployment, and of information management in service organizations.