A number of concurrent technological and organizational developments in the office automation area offer an excellent opportunity to greatly improve information systems management. This paper will attempt to show how information systems control could be taken over by managers through office automation. The emphasis is first on showing how office automation can contribute in designing manageable and controllable information systems from offices. Next, some organizational implications are discussed including possible structural changes and roles of the involved actors. Finally, a research design approach is outlined. It provides a practical framework to tackle implementation issues taking into account some critical constraints generated by office automation systems, notably from an organizational and social perspective.