Origin.com and Digital Information Systems - Case Study Example

Digital Business Management: Origin.com and Introduction Business management practices are undergoing major transformations (Gitman and McDaniel, 2008). Two decades ago the concept of e-commerce and e-business was only known to a few individuals and fewer businesses were implementing it (El Sawy and Pereira, 2012). The last two decades have seen major developments in business management with the growth of digital business management being the major transformational advancement (Sigman and Boston, 2013). This paper investigates how the business environment has been transformed through digital business management. To achieve this, the paper has selected www.origin.com as the site for analysis. An analysis of the website is conducted with a focus on how it is implementing digital information systems. The paper then reviews the business model of the website showing its online value proposition. The paper then goes ahead to identify the target audience of the website and how the website is trying to access them. Lastly, the paper evaluates the customer relationship management strategy employed and makes recommendations based on what has been observed. Origin.com and digital information systems Origin.com is Origin’s official website. Origin provides free gaming services and a platform for games shopping that allows user to shop, access and play varied video games. Origin also acts as a social networking platform which enables users to connect, network and invite one another to play games across different platforms (Origin.com, 2014). The site is also connected to a cloud service that enables a user to save a game and resume from where it was stopped. It, therefore, allows for exchange of information and feedback, hence, creating a fully functional digital information system (Gitman and McDaniel, 2006). A digital information system is defined as arrangement of hardware, software, liveware and information resources that enables inputting of data, processing, outputting and storage of information often for a definite purpose (Kathy, Zhwei and Agrusa, 2004). There are many types of information systems; the transaction processing system, management information system, decision support system and executive support system (El-Sawy and Pereira, 2012). This websites acts as a decision support system since it provides information that is then used by a customer to make decisions based on information provided (Preece, 2001). The same information can be used by the Origin management team to note and analyse problems and come up with sustainable solutions for the same. The website implements digital information systems in that it has most of digital system elements. For instance, it allows inputting of data through the search function and the log in page (Campbell, 2008). The hardware is the device that the user is using to access the website, for example, a personal computer model such as a notebook, laptop and desktop. The website hosting server is also part of the hardware of this digital information system (Becker and Nelson, 2010). In order for one to use Origin’s products, their personal computers must be connected with origin. This only happens through downloading the Origin application to a platform that supports it. The origin application is the main software of this information system. With this information system, the website visitor can query the website’s database to find out whether the games being sought are hosted by Origin. The visitors can then order and purchase a game. As a decision support digital information system, this website enables the management to know which cost centres are performing and which ones are not. For instance, if the management can track the number of clicks a page on the website receives then it can track the most active departments. The website can also show the overall trend of the company in terms of activity and even sales. This information can even be derived from external sources that monitor website activities such as Alexa.com. According to Alexa.com, Origin.com ranks number 4, 136 worldwide and number 3,165 in the United States. Figure 1 is a snapshot of the results from Alexa.com. Figure 1: Origin.com traffic popularity and traffic ranking (Source: Alexa.com) Alexa.com also establishes the engagement level of the website’s visitors. For example, it established that the bounce rate is at 45.90% having increased by 7.0%. This shows that the level of engagement has decreased (Alexa.com, 2014). The bounce rate is, usually, indicated by the number of visitors who spend less than a minute at the website (Cota-Uyar, 2011). Figure 2 shows that the number of page-views per visitor and the time spent on the website per visitor is decreased by 11.11% and 7.0% respectively (Alexa.com, 2014). To the management, this should be a cause for concern since it signifies potential decrease in sales. Figure 2: The level of engagement of the visitors at origin.com (Source: Alexa.com) Apart from the website acting as a sales portal, it is also the official communication vehicle for Origin. The Electronics Art Inc (EA) uses this site for official communication of its recent video releases, new games, demo releases and issuance of free versions of games (Origin.com, 2014). Origin.com, as a communication vehicle, provides a lot of content in a small yet highly efficient home page. The main communication objectives of this website as decision support systems are to increase awareness, to increase the visitors’ engagement and to generate revenue through sales. The SEO ranking increases the website’s visibility and, thus, the customers’ awareness. The awareness would likely increase the chances of increased engagement. The visitors go through the five stages of engagement as pointed out by Paine (2011) which are lurking, casual, active, committed and loyalists. The ultimate objective of increased revenue is, finally, achieved when the prospects convert into loyalists (Duening, Hisrich and Lechter, 2009). Business Model of Origin.com A business model is a structure of how a business intends to create and deliver value in a particular context (El Sawy and Pereira, 2012). The business model of an entity determines the target customers, the purpose of the business and how the company undertakes its business practices (Kathy, Zhiwei and Agrusa, 2004). Origin’s e-Business Model An e-business model is similar to the traditional business models only that this involves the use of information communication technology in all activities. The ICT used provides the interface for the interaction between the sellers and the buyers. Origin.com employs an e-business model in that it allows the business transactions between the various game publishers and the customers to take place via the internet (Origin.com, 2014). For example, it allows the querying of its database for relevant games, it also permits ordering and downloading of the games and, most importantly, it allows the payment for the same to be made online (Origin.com, 2014). Its value proposition is created through fast handling of orders since there is no paper work involved and fast delivery of the goods among others. Information is also easily accessible in that new releases and the pricing of the products are accessible in real time. First, Origin.com facilitates the sale of games from EA inc. to the end users. The business model, in terms of consumers, is thus a Business to Customer (B2C) exchange model (El Sawy and Pereira, 2012). A business to customer model allows the company to act as an online retailer. To achieve this, Origin.com specifically employs the storefront model to sell its products. The other models it could have used instead of the storefront models are the auction model, the portal model, and the comparison pricing model. The storefront model is the most widely used online business model (Kelly, 2006). It involves the listing of what the business stocks and their prices thus enabling the website visitor to make the decision on whether they can buy that product at that particular price. The advanced ones use a shopping cart feature that allows the buyer to accumulate all the products that he intends to buy and then pay for all them once (Sigman and Boston, 2013). One of the value propositions that accrue to a company that utilizes this model is that the company can sell its product around the clock since the system operates for twenty four hours all week. The other proposition is that payment is made instantly and before the product is delivered. This is unlike most of the traditional offline business models which operate on credit sales and purchases (Sigman and Boston, 2013). The last major proposition is that there is less lead time because the customer is able to access the product and download as soon as the payment is done. The lead time is the period that elapses between the placing of the order and delivery of the product or service. Being an online retailer, the goods are delivered instantly. Origin.com storefront includes an online catalogue of the products being stocked, order processing function, a secure payment mode and an overall timely delivery of the products. The online catalogue provides the list of products and their pricing and is available to all visitors (Origin.com, 2014). However, a visitor has to register first before being accorded the privilege to place an order and paying for the same. Payment is made online through a charging credit card or electronic transfer of funds from Moneybookers and Paypal after preparing the billing information. The system also allows the purchase of games through the EA Cash Card which is similar to a gift card that can redeem points through purchase of a game (Origin, 2014). After providing the billing information and ordering, a confirmation e-mail is sent and once the buyer confirms the transaction is finalised and the buyer can download the game. Target Audience The target audience of Origin.com is the customer and the prospects all over the world who play video games, both online and offline (Origin.com, 2014). According to the website evaluation site, Alexa.com, both the men and the women are equally targeted since they visit the site almost in equal proportion (Alexa.com, 2014). Most of them are fairly learned with some accessing the site from home, school and even work places. Figure 3 shows this depiction. Figure 3: Origin.com audience demographics (Source: Alexa.com) Since the business is not localized the target audience is also not geographically limited. However, it was evident that most of the visitors were from the United States meaning that Origin.com had a wider market penetration in the US than in other countries (Alexa.com, 2014). The other countries that provided a signification number of visitors were Russia, Brazil, Germany and India as depicted in Figure 4 below. Figure 4: Origin.com visitors in terms of countries {Source: Alexa.com) Origin.com markets its products widely. One of the ways it does so is by structuring the terms and wording of its websites to improve is search engine optimization (SEO) ranking (Espadas, Calero and Piattini, 2008). As such, at the moment, nearly 14.90% of the visitors come to the website directly from the search engines (Alexa.com, 2014). Figure 5 shows the search terms the target audience used to access the website. Apart from the search engines, the visitors also arrived at the site through links embedded in other websites. Currently, Origin.com is linked to 3443 websites, thus creating a huge base of prospective clients (Alexa.com, 2014). Figure 6 shows the number of websites linked to Origin.com as depicted in Alexa.com. Figure 5: Origin.com source of traffic (Source: Alexa.com) Figure 6: Origin.com major linking sites (Source: Alexa.com) Customer Relationship management The administrators of Origin.com have enabled customer relationship management through the various functions on the websites. These functions include the Help Centre, FAQs, the Contact Us function, the social media platforms, the Release Notes functions, Legal Notices, Terms of Services and Privacy Policy (Origin.com, 2014). All of these functions are meant to provide information to the website visitor to aid in communication and information searching. The Help Centre provides directions on how the visitor shouldnegotiate the site. The FAQS section lists the frequently asked questions and answers them thus saving the visitor the hassle of asking the same. The Contact US function provides the addresses through which the company can be reached. The social media widgets provide an alternative means of communication outside the website. Origin.com has the Facebook and Twitter widgets (Origin.com, 2014). The Releases Notes informs the customers of the new games or versions of games that have been released recently. The customer is, thus, able to stay abreast of all the latest developments. Lastly, the Legal Notices, the Terms of Services and the Privacy Policy provides the terms and conditions of the transactions between the customer and the seller. The customer is required to accept them before the purchase of any products and in case of any misunderstadings the provisios of these notices shall direct the steps to be taken (Origin.com, 2014). The Website’s Best Pratices After analysing the website as an interface for buyer-seller interaction and as a communication vehicle of the company, the following are the best practices that were noted. The company employs the beyond the website feature. According to El Sawy and Pereira (2012), this is the feature that allows the management and the customers to interact beyond the website, for example, through the social media platforms. Origin engages its customers through Facebook and Twitter besides Origin.com. The website also facilitates interactive browsing in that it uses a relaxed, almost informal, laguage to communicate with its visitors, it also enables one to create a personalised profile by the registered members (Origin.com, 2014). Members can network through chats and stream via TwitchTv. The company also clearly displays the rates of the products in display enabling the customers to make informed decisions based on pricing. As has been observed, the website also has a host of news related functions These includes the social media platforms, sites, the About Us function, FAQs and release notes. Through these pages, the customer can find the most accurate and relevant information by the company. Apart from communicating to the customers, the website also allows the customer to communicate with the management through the addresses provided in the contact us section (Origin.com, 2014). The website allows for the downloads of the Origin application on both PC and Mac platforms; this increases flexibility for the customer. They can play the games online and offline and the games progress can be saved in a cloud from where the player can resume next time. Lastly, the website allows the visitor to choose the language of the website he wishes to use. There are many options available,for example, English, Italian, French, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, Czech, Spanish and many others (Origin.com, 2014). This accords the visitor a great deal of flexibility. Recommendations The website has a good digital business strategy that utilizes almost all the best practices that are used by the best company. In terms of transactions processes and practices, the website is excellent. It now has to improve the communication function of the website with its visitors. If the communication effectiveness improves, the customer awareness, customer engagement and, ultimately, the company’s revenue should increase. One of the ways it can improve customer awareness is by going mobile and designing a mobile version of the website (Campbell, 2008; Cota-Uyar, 2011). Many people can access internet nowadays, though not through the PCs. Making the site accessible through the mobile platform will greatly improve the accessibility of the website (Frick, Su and An, 2005). The other recommendation is to make the Origin application downloadable and usable across the Android and iPhone platforms (Becker and Nelson, 2010). Currently, it can only be downloaded and used on the PC and Mac platforms though the company is seriously considering availing the mobile platform in the near future (Origin.com, 2014). The number of smart phone users has increased drastically over the past decade. This should ensure more access. The fact that people spend more time with their mobile devices than they do with their PCs can guarantee an increase in the engagement levels of the visitors which can in turn lead to an increment in sales and profitability. Lastly, the website owners should consider using a user-cetred terminology that makes the target audience feel at home (Duening, Hisrich, and Lechter, 2009). The use of a relaxed language is not enough. It should use some of the gaming terms that the target audience can identify with. This should also increase the visitors’ engament levels and help convert prospects into loyal customers (Paine, 2011). References Alexa.com., 2014. Origin.com. Alexa, [Online] Available at: [Accessed 19th March 2014] Becker, E., and Nelson, B., 2010. Seven tips for engaging your website visitors. Fairfield County Business Journal, 49(36), p. 12. Campbell, K., 2008. Need to develop (or Re-develop) your website? What you should know before you dive in. Hudson Valley Business Journal, 19(32), p. 26. Champy, J., 2012. Why customers come back. Chicago: FT Press. Cota-Uyar, K., 2011. Are you missing out? Improve your online presence. Corridor Business Journal, 7(51), pp. 15-18. Duening, T., Hisrich, R., and Lechter, M., 2009. Technology Entrepreneurship: Creating, Capturing and Protecting Value. London: Academic Press. El Sawy, O., and Pereira, F., 2012. 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