Nearly every "nontechnical" company function is now dependent on computers, and nearly every industry's work flow has been altered by the Internet. As a result, it's hard to imagine any business that isn't confronting critical technology decisions on a regular basis.

But what essentials should an executive know about Information Technology? In posing the question, I am referring to a "line of business" executive managing nontechnical functions in a nontechnical industry -- not a chief information officer (CIO) or software executive.

Here is my top 10 list of concepts every tech-savvy executive should know. For an executive to feel competent in any of these, he or she ought to have worked on at least one significant initiative encompassing it. The executive should understand how to apply it, and as importantly, what not to attempt.

• Process trumps technology. The tech-savvy exec knows that automation follows process optimization. As in any operational improvement project, you must first measure, then improve, and only then automate. If a business process is poorly understood or poorly managed, applying technology as a solution will be unhelpful at best, disastrous at worst.

• Bet on standardization. The standardization and flexibility of Internet technologies are enabling information technology to mature as an engineering discipline. Proprietary technologies, however powerful, may be more costly in the long run.

Several years ago, a systems integration client of mine made a major database commitment. The database they chose had the best combination of functionality and price for their purposes. But it was a niche product with small market share. As a systems integrator, they would have been best served by partnering with a market-share leader like Oracle or Microsoft.

• Information warehouse or junkyard? Most software initiatives that fail do so because an essential information resource was not accessible in a timely or cost-effective manner.

Applications are easier than ever to build, become obsolete more quickly, and are only as useful as the quality and consistency of the corporate data they access. Enhancing and maintaining that information should draw at least as many resources as building the applications themselves.

The tech-savvy executive understands that data management and application integration are no longer esoteric IT disciplines but critical factors for managing a nimble organization.

• Beware big answers to small questions. The tech-savvy executive applies the 80/20 rule to every aspect of technology investments, investing only in those with major return on investment -- with a large margin of error.

In his 2001 autobiography, "Jack: Straight From the Gut," Jack Welch recounts his mandate to GE that every Web page built have rigorous revenue-generating or cost-saving analysis. This may not be viable all the time. But it is good discipline after the "build it and they will come" mentality of the dot-com era.

• Complete an enterprise resource marathon. In the second half of the 1990s, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems were purchased by a majority of the Global Fortune 2000. ERP vendors, primarily SAP, Oracle and PeopleSoft, provided an integrated suite of applications to unite and optimize functions across the enterprise -- manufacturing, sales, logistics, financial and human resources. They provided an enhanced level of analysis by providing a common version of product, transactional and customer information.

These implementations had mixed results. Many were left unfinished or failed to achieve the returns on investment desired. Key challenges were the expense and difficulty of implementation, particularly in balancing standardized applications with a company's unique and dynamically changing business processes.

An executive who had business responsibility for rolling out a full-fledged ERP system will have experienced the entire spectrum of possibilities -- and frustrations -- in IT. Similar experience with supply chain software counts too.

• Share and share alike. Internet technologies enable organizations to share support functions that previously had to be provided separately for each business unit.

The consolidation and automation of back-office functions often provide the highest return on investment for technology expenditures.

• No magic bullets. The classic "killer app," the spreadsheet, was not sold as an automated replacement for human financial analysts. Rather, it addressed the reality that financial analysts spent 80 percent of their time entering numbers into a mechanical calculator, and only 20 percent doing analysis. The spreadsheet reversed that ratio.

Tech-savvy execs are sophisticated about what technology can and can't do. Most great solutions automate the bulk of the rote work in a business process, leaving people to do more higher-level work. A vendor or consultant who promises their technology will completely automate a business function is probably overreaching.

• Performance management. As early as 1997, Peter Drucker proclaimed that: "I'm reasonably convinced that within 20 years or so most businesses will have an information executive who will be in charge of both the traditional accounting system and the new information systems. The time has come for us to shift from the 'T' in IT to the 'I.' "

The growth of "business intelligence" software and quality initiatives such as Six Sigma have created a staggering array of alternative metrics by which to monitor corporate performance. Tech-savvy executives understand that "managing by the numbers" is a fluid, not static, concept.

• Embattled vendors. The saturated corporate market for technology and the economic downturn have shaken most IT vendors and consulting firms. It is a negotiating opportunity, to be sure, but also a concern. Have you been through several complex negotiations with software or hardware vendors, large consultancies or outsourcers? Do you know when to call in specialists to assist?

• Commoditization of technology. A recent Harvard Business Review article claimed that "IT Doesn't Matter."

Of course, IT still matters a great deal. And the tech-savvy executive's greatest skill may be to distinguish where IT can be leveraged for strategic advantage, and where it doesn't matter very much.