This chapter introduces information technology and its role in business. It discusses how businesses face pressures in the modern information age and how they respond through strategic uses of IT. It provides an example of a skateboard retailer that implemented a point-of-sale system to track inventory and sales in real-time across stores. This allowed the retailer to order supplies only as needed and gain insights into customer purchasing. The chapter outlines how IT can provide transaction processing, data storage, communication, decision support, and competitive advantages for organizations. It also discusses how IT can be used to strategically address issues around suppliers, customers, and the value chain.