However, his conclusions are incorrect regarding hardware components. You can buy a terabyte of hard disk at your local computer store for a few thousand dollars. However, does that imply that you can use that storage for your terabyte data warehouse? No, much more is required to properly manage that warehouse.
Second, Carr does not mention the procedures and processes behind business activities that IT supports. These procedures evolve over years and are woven into the organizational fabric. These procedures are an asset that cannot be bought as a commodity.
Third, Carr does not mention enterprise data, which is the lifeblood of corporate IT. The integration and maintenance of enterprise data over the long term is not a commodity to be purchased off a vendor's shelf.
In summary, Carr is addressing only a part of the corporate IT picture, while proposing recommendations that are seductive to naive managers. By oversimplifying, the danger is that managers will underestimate the effort to align IT with business strategy and will discount the benefits of realizing IT potential for the business. IT does matter!