Project Implementation - Assignment Example

?Executive summary This report examines a project implementation document. Soul Data Recovery and IT Solutions Limited, a Welsh SME, seek to try and expand its operations. The idea comes from the discovery that some of its clients need more than what the company offers. The existence of this gap drives the company into the bold move of diversifying its operations to include data security system. This project implementation document details the features and other aspects necessary for the project. The report analyses the issues which the company should focus on in the project implementation. It gives explanations of constraints which the company might encounter in the process of project implementation. It goes further to provide some possible approaches which the company may take in the effort of trying to deal with the constraints efficiently. The assumptions made in the project implementation document are very clearly defined by this report. Introduction Security of digital data comes as an important factor in data management systems. There exists numerous areas of concern for various organizations in relation to the value of data in their possession. Defense arms of the government possess classified information only accessed by a few individuals who have the authority to do so. Various firms also need to secure their information from access by hackers and other ill-intended individuals. Due to the threat posed by loss of vital information, companies have employed data security systems within their IT departments. This, in turn, necessitates Companies offering IT services to venture into security services business. From the small SMEs to large corporate like Microsoft, the desire to venture into security systems business can be said to be surmountable. Through this need, many companies have been able to integrate security services among other services. Soul Data Recovery and IT Solutions fall under those numerous companies faced with the task of offering security systems to its clients. Project goals The goal of this project would be protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information within the organization where Soul offers its services. The project aims at curbing misappropriation of digital data within the customer premises. This refers to the use of data available within a premise for other purposes than the intended one. This includes officers taking away data from the company server for personal use. The need for a company to protect its data arises as results of numerous cases of misappropriation go on the rise. The main goal of this project remains to secure the data which its customers require secured from access. This shall be achieved through the installation of programs which allow only a limited access. The other goal of the project would be defining and securing the information accessed from the institutions’ infrastructure. The project shall also define the points at which certain data can be accessed. Limitation of access points will translate to being able to monitor access to any classified information. Access control shall also be another of the main goals of this project. This shall be aimed at exerting control over what people can access while at the place of work. Creation of access control systems shall be essential for the success of the project. Scope Basically, the scope of this project lies in securing information, which can be, accessed from company premises. This being classified information owned by the company and harmful information from other places outside the company. A need arises for the project to define personal and general information. Personal data can be defined as information relating to an identifiable subject. This information may relate to numerous aspects of the subject. This is information which one can be able to link or associate with another person. In the case of Soul’s clients, this information relates to student details, results and other personal records of students. This project aims at reducing cases of information leakage to the undesired individuals. The project targets at minimizing the level at which a person is enabled to access such information. General information does not lie within the scope of the project. This information relates to statistics which may not be specific to individuals. This information should be in the public domain as it creates interest. This can be information like the number of students enrolled to a certain subject. This information cannot be withheld from anyone and normally provides vital statistics to stakeholders. The project aims at limiting the use of social media to share private information from an institution database. The project will also aim at making sure that the information in the database cannot be altered neither can it be changed by unauthorized users. The use of company infrastructure forms another point of focus for the project. Company infrastructure meant for doing company jobs should not be used for other purposes. The project focuses on limiting the access of certain websites from company premises. The importance of this should be to make sure harmful site cannot be accessed. These sites at times contain viruses which may harm the company database. There arises a need to disable access of such material from company infrastructure. The scope of this project within the context of external information lies in identifying safe and unsafe websites. Access to certain sites can be denied if safe and unsafe websites can be properly identified. Project organization The project organization shall be carried out by the management team of Soul Data Recovery and IT Solutions. This process shall ensure that the project is carried out within the desired time. It shall also ensure the project meets the set standards for security systems. The standards of this project depend on the customer needs and quality standards set by regulatory authorities. Having already identified certain clients who need the services of this project, the next step would be to carry out and assessment of their needs. Through this, the firm shall create a project which satisfies the customers. Through the company’s legal advisor, Soul shall create a system which complies with the set regulation. This project shall be based on the regulations put forward by the government. The data protection act of 1998 provides a guideline on the way to go through in data protection. The act also requires companies, and individuals to keep personal information to themselves. This requirement forces Soul Data Recovery and IT Solution ltd to come up with a data protection system compliant to the regulations outlined in the act. The act supports the right to privacy. This project shall ensure that there exists a limit to the amount of information which an individual can access to an institution’s database while outside the institution. The department of digital forensics shall be charged with the sole duty of carrying out this project. This shall include the initiation, progress monitoring, and maintenance of the system once the projects are implemented. The department shall cooperate, with the other departments, to ensure smooth operations through out the project period. The creation of this department shall be the beginning of the implementation process for the project. Once it becomes operational, this department shall hire qualified engineers to undertake the project. The engineers will be available to maintain the system and perform repairs when need arises. This shall immensely enhance customer satisfaction. With the introduction of a new department, various aspects of the organization shall have to be changed. Among them is the number of employees in the organization. The number of employees is expected to rise from the current 25 to 35. The table below shows how the employees shall be distributed in different departments. Department Current No. Expected No. Top management 4 5 Network and IT support 5 5 Installation and custom building team 8 10 Sales and marketing 3 4 Administration 3 3 Catering and cleaning 2 3 Digital forensics - 5 Total 25 35 Table 1- employee distribution by department. The project shall include a testing period. During this testing period, the clients who requested for the system shall have a free trial offered to them. The digital forensic department will at this time be correcting any issues which arise in the system. The test period shall be essential in coming up with a final system that meets all the standards. This period shall also en sure that a client is given a chance to test the applicability of the system into their operation. Business case Background Soul Data Recovery and IT solution limited is a SME providing data recovery and IT network services to schools, businesses, and institutions across Wales. As a SME, it is faces a lot of challenges. The business seeks to increase the number of services it offers to its clients. It aims at widening its operation towards offering security services to its clients. The year old company’s clients face a lot of challenges in dealing with security of data in their possession. The clients have identified the challenges which they face. They have gone further and sought assistance from this SME. Other than these existing clients, the company needs to create new clientele base as a way of maintaining growth and expansion. With some of its clients already having signed into the initial register of interest, the company becomes motivated to pursue this new venture. The growing need for good security of data can be said to be a driving factor towards the company making this decision. This line of business has in the past been associated with big cooperates and it becomes an expensive affair. Soul Data Recovery and IT Solutions ltd identify this as a major opportunity for growth and expansion. Business benefits This venture shall bring a wide range of benefits to Soul Data Recovery and IT Solution. Firstly, with it being a new venture, the business shall achieve a desirable amount of growth. This growth in turn makes the company realize expansion. The company can be able to move from being an SME to become a huge corporation. Though it may necessitate the need to open new offices elsewhere, this shall enable the company to deliver its services countrywide and internationally quickly as a result of being near the clients. Secondly, the project will enable the company to venture into another field. Offering a wider range of services can be of much importance to the customers. The existing customers shall not require getting a different firm to protect their data. With the inclusion of forensics and expert witness support into its services, customers shall be able to access all data related solutions from one company. This shall be a very efficient way of achieving customer satisfaction. Lastly, the company shall increase its earnings through this new venture. In increasing the services offered, the company shall improve revenue collection as this new venture aims at increasing customer base for the company. This venture shall be another income generation avenue for the company. This would in turn translate to higher income levels as none of the previous services shall be cut out. The venture also provides several benefits to customers. The customers shall be able to access IT integrated services. These services include data protection from undesired access together with data recovery and maintenance system. With integrated services, the customers shall be able to get a comprehensive and satisfactory package of IT services. This shall be beneficial to customers as they shall be able to reduce system maintenance cost. Constraints These can be described as the things that would make it difficult to implement the project. There exist several constraints in this field. The constraints identified shall need to be addressed sufficiently for the success of this project. Cost The amount of capital required to set up a security system forms the base of the project. This applies to both the owner and the buyer of the system. The cost of implementing this project shall be quite strenuous to Soul Data Recovery and IT Solutions. The firm falls under the category of SME and may not be able to fund the project from its own accounts. Security systems require huge sums of money to implement as well as maintain. For a young company as Soul this can seem an uphill task to achieve. With proper government and resource control, a small firm can easily get into the lucrative arena of offering security solutions as well. The intention of Soul shall be to seek external funding in order to actualize this project. Partnering with other firms which may have an interest in the same can also be a possible solution to the same problem. Legislation Other than the data protection act which requires a firm to protect confidential information, there exists other legislation providing other rights. Some acts of parliament provide for information to be provided to any interested parties. The freedom of information act of 2000 can be termed as one such regulation. This act gives a “right of access” to the public for information held in their interest. Some clients of Soul can be classified as public institutions. These institutions cannot be able to secure some of their information. If secured this information may need to be released to the public upon demand. Such a scenario would nullify the initial project of installing security systems to the data. Analysis of the organizations shall be carried out in an effort to determine the information an institution needs to secure. The services shall be rendered to the organizations having information delinked from public interest. This would ensure compliance with the law. Human resource The implementation of any project is highly depended on the availability as well as skill of human resource. Soul Data Recovery and IT Solution ltd currently does not have a section within its organizational chart dealing with security provision. This may cause a challenge in the implementation of the project due to the lack of qualified personnel to deal with the issues which may arise. The company, however, intends to set up a digital forensics department. Through this department it shall be able to monitor the progress of the project as well as implement the project accordingly. With the support of other departments, the new one will be able to implement the project in accordance to the desired and set standards of security systems. The company contains 25 employees who are distributed within the various departments. The current employee allocation per department is shown be the pie chart below. Assumptions The following assumptions have been made in this report: The clients who have signed the initial register do not fall under the category of public institutions. None of the clients has information which may arouse public interest in future. Partners shall agree, without impeding sanctions on Soul, to get into business with the firm. The company shall be able to get qualified personnel to fit into the yet to be created department of digital forensics. Conclusion Data security can be defined as an essential requirement for any company. This ranges from institutions to private businesses. There arises a need to limit the data which individuals can access from company infrastructure due to the legislations which require personal data to be protected. This makes it a viable venture for Soul Data Recovery and IT Solutions to start offering its clients services related to data security. With existing legislation making it compulsory for companies to protect data held form clients; this can be an easy area for the company to expand through. 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