The Strategic Challenges Faced by SFTF - Case Study Example

Managing Information Systems The strategic challenges faced by SFTF include: The business of the SFTF Company totaled up to 80 % of the local authority continuing contracts and 20% on the projects. This income, which was guaranteed, underwent a decline of about 66%. This decline led to a reduction on the workforce of the organization, and prompted a need for going back to the drawing board to re-strategize the business model of the organization as well as coming up with new strategies for the organization. The infrastructure that was used in the support of the prior business is now seen to be somewhat expensive for the organization, and sales that are of a web-based nature are now put under consideration. As opposed to a few larger multi-million pound contracts, the organization needs to start focusing on acquiring many much smaller contracts with individual schools. This is the only way to ensure the survival of the organization. This in turn requires the model of the business to shift from that of a few larger contracts to many but smaller ones dealing with individual schools. This shift is vital for the business since it is going to ensure that the business constantly gets contracts often, as opposed to having larger contracts, but getting one contract at time. With the smaller contracts, the organization will be assured to having a constant source of income to keep the business up and running. While the focus of the business had placed much emphasis on the young people only, there was an increase in competition from those organizations that are concerned with the employment for adults. This means that the competition strategy has now changed and there is a need for SFTF to change its strategy in order to remain relevant in the market, at the same time, maintain the values of the organization. Another challenge faced by SFTF is that it continues functioning in an environment whereby the market is unpredictable, and the policies constantly keep on changing. Working under these conditions can be tricky since the organization has to be in constant watch for what is required in the market, and what will not go if produced. In this instance if they are to maintain their competitive edge in the market, they need to focus on being efficient, proactive, as well as excellent. In the organization’s effort to cut on cost, it has been forced to share most of the back office services with three additional organizations that are similar to it. This is risky when it comes to the security of the confidential data of the organization. It makes it easy for hackers to hack into the system and access the rather confidential information about the organization. Most of the staff in the organization was full time permanent staff who used to work from office. Due to the financial constraints, redundancy has become inevitable. Impact on IT Strategy going forward: The IT strategy going forward will have the following impacts on the SFTF organization: Business Strategy IT leads to the creation of new opportunities for improvement in the quality products and services. Years back, services used to be conveyed in person, as opposed to nowadays where delivery of the services is done over the over the network. This makes it easy for a consumer to access the service as long as they have internet access in their computers. In case of any problems, there can be able to interact with the service provider through the use of e-mails. This also reduces the response time to a problem that may be faced by the end-user (HECKMAN, 2000, pp 29). Organization Culture IT services such as the electronic mail as well as the groupware has brought about a significant transformation in the flow of information in an organization, and also between the suppliers as well as the consumers. It has lead to the improvement in the organizational communication. IT has facilitates the communication between employees in an organization. The employees can be able to interact with each other in a short time as opposed to going physically to seek clarity over something. Organization Structures IT has brought about a change in the structure of the organization. The structure of the organization can either be centralized or decentralized. Centralization is whereby all the resources of the organization are places centrally in the organization and they are accessed from that central point. Decentralization is whereby the resources are distributed in many branches of the organization. Each branch has its own set of resources an administrator to manage them. In a decentralized environment, there are as many administrators as the organization branches, unlike in a centralized environment whereby there is only one administrator. This structuring of the organization ensures that in case of a problem encountered, solving it becomes easy as it becomes easy to trace where the problem started from. Management Processes IT is used to manage the access of resources as well as information in the organization. IT is in charge of ensuring that the resources as well as the information are accessed using particular criteria. It also sees to it that those unauthorized parties are denied access of the resources and the information of the organization and permits only the authorized parties to gain access. It is also in charge of ensuring that resources are accessed fairly and not denied to the authorized parties at the required time. Work IT has been able to automate most of the organization processes. This ensures that tasks are handles within minimum time and with minimum errors. It has also led to the increase in the productivity of the output. The Workplace IT has made it possible for people to work from other environments as opposed to the office alone. E-conferencing has made it possible for people to attend meeting though not physical, but are part of the meeting. The introduction of internet has made it possible to work from homes. Cloud computing is a technology strategy that makes use of the internet as well as the centrally located remote servers for the purpose of maintaining applications and data. It permits organizations and the consumers to utilize applications without having to undergo an installation process, and they are in a position to access their private files using any computer with an internet access (Furht & Escalante, 2010, pp 5). A good example of the cloud computing technology is the Gmail, the Yahoo mail, and the Hotmail. In order for one to send an e-mail, all that is required is an internet connection. The software that manages the email as well as the server all recede on the cloud, which in this case is the internet. The management is done by the cloud’s service provider, which can be Google, Yahoo, etc. The end-user gets the privilege to make use of the software single-handedly and also gets enjoy the benefits. Cloud computing is divided into three subdivisions, that is the connectivity, application, and storage. Each of these three segments performs a different function, and also presents varied products for individuals and organizations worldwide. Cloud Computing Infrastructure There are three infrastructures associated with cloud computing and they are as follows: i. Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) It creates the environment for processing. The services here can be put into operation through the use of different technologies. ii. platform-as-a-service (PaaS) It creates an environment suitable for the development and operations of applications. Other services that are part of this service include the management of session, authentication, as well authorization. iii. software-as-a-service (SaaS) This service is the most highly developed and sophisticated cloud. This infrastructure has functions that are used in solving the problems of users. Some example of SaaS include: web-conferencing, the business intelligence, emails among others (Jamsa, 2013, pp 15). The Deployment Models and Concepts of Cloud Computing i. Community Cloud In this type of cloud, infrastructure is shared among numerous organizations from a particular neighborhood that has a mutual concern, regardless of whether management of the cloud is performed internally or performed by a third-party, and hosting done externally, or internally. The costs are shared among fewer users as compared to a public cloud in order to maximize of the saving cost. ii. Public Cloud This type of cloud is setup in an environment whereby several organizations have mutual requirements and need to share the infrastructure. The organizations choose to settle for this kind of a setup because it ensures that all the resources are utilized. The resources in this case include workstations, storage facilities, among others (Velte, Velte& Elsenpeter 2010, pp 23). In this type of model, the resources are put online by the service provider, in order to make them readily available to the general public. Users are granted permission to make use of the resources available on the cloud, though at some extend, they are restricted to perform certain activities, for instance, resource installation. Some of the benefits that come with using the public cloud include: High level of reliability and redundancy. Its availability is widespread regardless of geographical constraints. It has effective computing as well as storage services. It makes it easy to connect to servers, as well as facilitating information sharing, among others. iii. Private Cloud In this type of model, a particular organization uses infrastructure alone without sharing it with any other organization. This model is not normally adopted with many organizations in that one incurs high costs for the usage of the infrastructure. This model also discourages many organizations from using it in that the utilization of resources is not maximized. As much it has its own short comings, it also has its benefits, for instance, security within the infrastructure is assured, and high performance is experienced, among others. Relevance of Cloud Computing to SFTF Cloud computing will facilitate the generation of new ways of providing services to the clientele of SFTF. This is a very important strategy to the organization given that it is operating in a market that is unpredictable and the policies keep on changing rapidly. On top of it, there is also a need for the company to remain competitive in the market. It is for these reasons that it becomes vital to come up with new ways of providing services. This will contribute greatly in ensuring that SFTF remains on top among the other competitor companies (Marks & Lozano, 2010, pp 20). It will enhance the response to changes in business. Cloud computing minimizes the financial costs regarding barriers to entry. This in turn reduces the response time to the changes in business (Hurwitz, 2010, pp 10). It will reduce the cost of operation. The cost of space, people, as well as power as reduced significantly through automation and standardization. It will enable reusability of applications. Since cloud computing permits for modularity of application, it becomes easier to use the application in future. Improve the satisfaction of customers. Cloud computing will enable the department of IT to easily supervise the expectations of their customers It will supplement the stability of services. The modularity aspect of cloud computing makes it easy to improve on the technique of disaster recovery. The SFTF organization can adopt the computing, the private, or the public cloud model. Out of the three the most appropriate and cost effective is the public cloud model, though it is prone to insecurity. Cloud computing technology will be of a great value to SFTF organization. It will bring about more increased productivity for the organization and also ensure that the SFTF organization gains the competitive advantage it requires to create a cutting edge against its competitors (Hurwitz, 2010, pp 19). Cloud computing will also help to ensure that organization is able to provide services that are of the required quality to the customers. This in turn will lead to a good business customer relationship, and boost the organization in terms of income. IT and Human Implications Benefits of IT IT has led to the increase of productivity by the employees in an organization. This is so in that IT is used in organizations to automate some of the tasks that if done by an employee might take time, and also be prone to some errors. With the automation of some of the tasks, the organization is able to save on time, as well as ensuring quality output is produced. This in turn leads to an increased income for the organization. IT has improved communication between employees in an organization and also enhances consumer and supplier communication. Employees are able to communicate with each other and/or with the consumers and suppliers through the use of emails, text messages, mobile phone, etc. this improvement in communication will make it easier for transactions to take place in the organization (NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (U.S.), 2008, pp 29). It is thanks to IT that financial management has improved. IT has brought about accounting software, for instance the Quick Books, which has made it easier for the owners of organizations to be able to balance their books, even if they have limited experience in the field of accounting. This is so because the software is fully equipped with all the tools required to go through the accounting process, and on top of that, there is also the section where a user can get some help through the usage of the software incase he/she gets stuck. IT has also led to the improvement of the customer business relationship. It is through the social networks that organizations are able to interact in detail with their consumers. This in turn leads to a strong relationship between the consumers and the organization, which leads to the improvement of the business through the feedback gathered as a result of the interaction, therefore leading to the growth of the business. It is through the social networks, that business can be able to communicate things like sale, the launch of new products or services, among others. Disadvantages of IT IT may result to the elimination of jobs. Technology has seen to automate most of the organization’s processes, and this in turn results to some employees losing their jobs. Most of the employees are usually reluctant towards the introduction of technology to their organizations because they know for a fact one day they might be replaced by the computers. So most of the people view IT from the perspective of bringing about the loose of jobs (Szewczak, Snodgrass, & Khosrowpour, 2001, pp 1). IT is a disadvantage to human beings in that they become very dependent on it. This makes human beings to be able to do something simple by themselves. They are used to depending on IT to do everything. For example, nowadays people cannot perform simple calculations using their heads. They use calculates unlike how it was in the old days when the use of technology was not rampant. This in turn makes human beings’ thinking capacity to reduce. IT has led to the isolation of human beings from each other. Most of the people usually spend most of the time on the internet. They rarely spend time with their family members or even their friends. The dependence on the internet has weakened the relationship between human beings. The social network especially, has been the major contributor towards the weakening of the relationships between friends as well as between family (SzyperskI ,2003, pp 33). IT has also led to the loose of communication on the aspect of personal level. This is more evident on the kids who are growing up during this time that technology is on its peak. Most of them are used to communicating to their friends through the use of technology. When it comes to them presenting themselves for things like job interviews, they find it hard to communicate in the appropriate manner. Writing a C.V will also be challenging to them since they are used to addressing their friends in an informal manner. So for them, formal presentation becomes a major problem, both verbally and also in writing. Organizations usually experience breach of security. The data of organizations is mainly stored on cloud servers that are located remotely. This data can be accessed through the use of a username and password. This is a major threat to the organization because a hacker can be able to crack both the username and the password and gain access to the confidential data of the organization, and manipulate it for his/her own personal benefit at the expense of the organization. The expense of implementing IT: The cost of implementing technology for an organization is high. For an organization that is small and lacks the required amount to setup technology becomes disadvantaged on that it is subjected to losing their customers to those organizations that are in a position to adopt technology (BUILDER & BANKES, 2001, pp 26). The Role Of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Bring Your Own Device is a term that is used to refer to the act of allowing the employees of an organization to bring with them to work their personal technology devices and use them to gain access to the organization restricted applications . These devices include: tablets, laptops, smart phones (THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE FOR IT, 2013, pp 19). The roles of BYOD are as follows: Many organizations are moving towards the adoption of this technique because it is thought to increase the productivity of the employees in the organization. This is so because people tend to feel more at ease when they work with their own device. Since on is used to his/her own device, it makes is easy to navigate around it (HAYES & KOTWICA, 2013, pp 25). BYOD is also supposed to increase employee satisfaction. One finds it easy to use their own device as opposed to the one that they have been chosen for by the IT experts of the organization. They can be free to work around their own devices, as opposed to using the companies’ device, because in case anything goes wrong with the device, they are liable to their own device, and they can have it replaced at their own time (KEYES, 2013, pp 31). It is also supposed to bring about job satisfaction. This is so in that the employee can be able to take home the device and work from home in case he/she did not complete his/her work in the office. Using the company device will restrict the employee from working from home since they are not allowed to take home the company’s devices. This in turn will result to working quickly so that the employee can be able to complete the work by the before leaving the office. Working fast may produce low quality output (WU, 2013, pp 23). BYOD is also seen to be of benefit from the organization perspective in that the organization will not incur the cost of having to purchase machines for each and every employee in the organization. The money that was set aside for this purpose can be utilized somewhere else (BALLARD, 2012, pp 28). In general, BYOD can be seen to be more advantageous to the organization when adopted, of course some regulations have to be put in place to ensure its effective use for the organization. BYOD is a technique that I would recommend for the SFTF organization. When it is adopted, the organization has to ensure that rules and regulations are put in place to govern its use. The employees should also play their part in the adoption of this technique. They should comply with the rules that will be put in place by the top management regarding the use of this technique when accessing the organization’s privileged data. They should not use the privileges that they acquire to benefit themselves at the expense of the organization. With the co-operation between the employees and the top organization, then the technique will have a positive and great impact on the organization. References Jamsa, K. (2013). Cloud computing. Burlington, Mass., Jones & Bartlett Learning Marks, B. & Lozano, E. (2010). Executives guide to cloud computing. Wiley, Hoboken, N.J. Furht, B. & Escalante, A. (2010). Handbook of cloud computing. Springer, New York. Velte, T., Velte, J. & Elsenpeter, R. 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