Shea's One of a Kind Boutique - Term Paper Example

Role of Technology in the Effectiveness and Efficiency of the Business Technology can be an important factor in the effectiveness and efficiency of a business if applied properly. In the boutique business, technology would be used smartly in order to make the business more effective and more efficient. A central information system will be set up and all the terminals in the business would be connected to each other. Any entry of data in one terminal would automatically update the data in all the terminals, thus the information would be centralized (Gottschalk, 2007).

Use of barcodes will be made and each item in the outlets will be assigned a unique barcode. The barcode will hold the essential information such as price and name of the item. The entry of the data would not be done manually but it will be automated through the use of barcode readers and this information will be updated in the central servers. In case of a sale, the invoice will be generated once the barcode is entered in the system. Thus, the item will be moved from the inventory records and it will be recorded as sold.

Another use of technology would be the placement of trackers on the items, specially the items that cost more, in order to ensure that the items are not moved from the inventory unless proper recording has been done in the system in this regard. This control system would also ensure that the items are not stolen from the boutique. Cloud Computing Cloud computing is the sharing of software, information and other utilities over a network among computers and other devices. Cloud computing is a relatively new concept but it is proving to be highly essential for the businesses where centralization of information is becoming necessary.

Cloud computing is a combination of infrastructure, platform and applications. Infrastructure include the network, storage and servers; platform includes the database, identity and object storage and the applications include the monitoring, communication, content and financial information. Users access the cloud based applications from their devices using the network or if they do not have access to the network, they can access it over the internet if the network allows virtual access. Cloud computing allows the management to run the business even from remote locations.

In this manner, the business remains uninterrupted even when the core management is unavailable (Miller, 2008). For the boutique business, cloud computing can play a very important role. The owners of the business can keep track of all the records in real time without even being required to be available in the premises of the boutique all the time. Another positive aspect of the cloud computing services is that they can be accessed from mobile devices too. Through virtual access, the owners of the business can keep track of all the transactions and financial data of the business even when they are on the move.

The major weakness associated with cloud computing in the business is the threat of illegitimate intervention and leakage of information. Since all the records are centralized on the cloud database, any intervention into the network may cause a theft of the confidential records. Technology and Confidential Information Almost all the businesses have some trade secrets and certain records which are not meant to be seen by outsiders or the competitors. The confidentiality