Introduction to the Opinion Paper: Bryant's 'The future of information systems'

European Journal of Information Systems (2008) 17, 694. doi:10.1057/ejis.2008.54 Last year, the European Journal of Information Systems’ premier Editor-inChief, Ray Paul, defined a number of clear challenges for Information Systems (IS) in one of a series of editorials about change (Paul, 2007). It reverberated with the ongoing introspective concerns across the discipline in which many felt it was time to change-or-die. Does IS have relevance to practice (Rosemann & Vessey, 2008)? Does it have a core (Benbasat & Zmud, 2003)? Does it have a theory (Larsen & Levine, 2005)? In recent issues, EJIS has published a number of opinion articles regarding the past, present, and future of the discipline of IS. Some of these have dealt with problems for IS that have no regional borders such as, ‘What exactly is ‘‘IS’’’ (Alter, 2008)? Others have particularly focused on European IS, and its distinctiveness (or lack of distinctiveness) (Galliers, 2008; Paul, 2008). In the following opinion paper ‘The future of Information Systems’, Antony Bryant returns us to the broader discussion in suggesting that IS is in the process of adapting to the late modern world, and struggling with new modes of thinking about information, communication, and technology in their context of biological, social, linguistic, and cultural change. Perhaps the IS we are creating and studying are better adapted than we can comprehend with old ways of thinking. Bryant offers new ways to change our modes of thinking about our subject area.