IT Strategies To Align To Business Strategies - Coursework Example

IT Strategies To Align To Business Strategies Assessment of the Current State of WW Company WW Company in its quest to provide quality service to its various customers in the transportation business has been marked with various challenges. The current systems in existence in the company are not being utilized optimally due to factors such as the inability of the employees to adapt to the change that has been introduced. Employees in the bookkeeping and accounting departments expressed different levels of concern with regards to the installed systems. The systems were considered to take a longer time to execute tasks which brought a halt in the business operations therefore making their work more frustrating. As for the accountants in the accounts department, the accounting systems involved bulk load of work that needed to be fed into the system. According to them, this sort of activity was going to be cumbersome and it was subject to errors in entry since they were expected to be highly accurate. The investigation went further to reveal that the dispatchers who were using routing expressed ease in the usage. They had no major issues with the system only that routing or rather the grouping of itemized packages into zipped codes and allocating them to the next available hauler was time consuming. Moreover, the system had not been configured and programmed to cater for pickups that could occur once goods were on transit. The haulers would make pickups from clients based on the availability of space in the courier. However, it was difficult to manage this forms of transactions since the system consisted of a limited scope that could only handle the transit of goods from the main the main stores to the different outlet areas that had been assigned to the freight. The terminal managers handled a lot of work and it was evident that there was need for adjustment of the various strategies that had been put in place in part one so that they can efficiently and effectively handle their obligation without strain. There was a concern about how they will manage to store the deliverables and keep track of the stated inventory. The terminal managers agreed to the fact that the tracking of the shipment would be a challenge to them and they had to revert to the manual recording methods. The record books were then forwarded to the book keepers for data entry. The resultant effect of the particular type of action was that the book keepers were constantly overworked. The maintained and safety personal had complained about the scheduling of times when spare parts would be delivered so that different job cards can be allocated to different people. There was also an issue concerning the allocation of shift jobs with the availability of the individual. The safety manager ad his concerns directed to the amount of hours that they drivers spent on the road. With a recent enactment of the federal laws, there was need to have a tracking system that could be able to determine the number of hours that a specific driver has driven and it should be able to send various alerts to the concerned people if the threshold time is reached. The existing automated inventory system was efficiently being adopted by the consumers who monitored the progress of converting of products from their raw form to a refined form. Definition of Future Vision The IT Department at WW aims to be a positive supporting force for the organization, utilizing information technology and innovative technological approaches to improve business processes and service delivery. The Department will emphasize on technology awareness and continuous innovation to meet changing user needs including customers, suppliers, and employees. Various challenges have influenced the operation of WW Company hence making it not to meet its stated business needs as provided in the mission and vision statements. Moreover, the relationship between the IT based organization and other key customers and business partners had strained their collaboration due to lack of effective systems that would streamline and synchronize the operations of both the elements The business therefore through the formation of the three fundamental strategies believes that IT is going to transform its level of operations to promote quality output and to save time. The current overall strategies that have been proposed by the company and which are being practiced and applied in the industry are: i. To provide warehouse services to ensure availability of products near local destinations with the objective of reducing delivery times ii. To improve fleet loaded miles with the objective of reducing costs via improved coordination between freight pickup and delivery iii. To track freight in trucks and terminals in order to improve accuracy of delivery schedules iv. To improve service reliability for new and existing customers In order for the company to achieve the various strategic objectives, it must come up with IT strategies linked to the general objectives in order to solve the current situation at WW Company. It therefore becomes important that the report considers the possibility of adopting one internal IT strategy and external IT strategies that would help the company operate and run smoothly. Internal IT strategy Technology Refresh WW Company should consider to upgrade the existing computer systems. In terms of the specified upgrades, it should focus on both the software aspect and the hardware capabilities and specifications. Different departments are relying on the following existing stems to conduct their operations: 1. Finance and Accounting system 2. Route optimization and freight tracking system 3. Fleet maintenance system The existing systems are facing difficulties because of the information technology infrastructure that is present to facilitate the operation. Moreover, the systems are not capturing the business needs as stated in the assessment review. 1. The company should purchase equipment with higher storage spaces and ensure that there is a dedicated server with maximum capabilities to maintain the developed systems. One of the main possibilities as to why the people in the finance and accounts department complain of slow system use may be as a result of insufficient storage space thereby clogging the ram of the computer unit or faster transactions that make the computer remain in a constant locked state or system hang. Therefore, the first step can be to upgrade the infrastructure so that the processes can be facilitated. 2. The terminal managers should be acquainted of the various business processes and be able to use the automated systems to conduct their responsibilities. 3. The software should be outsourced so as various other improvements are made on them so that to capture the current business processes. Business Enabling Strategies Good Customer Relationships The drivers of the haulers that are charged with the distribution of commodities to different places have a personalized relationships with their customers. The resultant effect of the particular engagement has been positive business growth. The customers are able to directly contact the drivers and even able to keep track of the transit processes. These engagements should be encouraged across various other departments that involve the interaction with the customer on a regular basis. Manual Tasks Automations Various operations done by the terminal managers are still on a manual basis of operation. The resultant effect of the particular system is the inconsistencies of the transmitted data that is to be recorded in the other departments. Moreover, the business processes are relatively slow in these particular department delaying the overall business process and cycle. This compromises on efficiency and quality of the output that is generated. Table 1: IT Investment Alternatives Framework Alternative Major Programs Time Frame Estimated Incremental Costs Business Benefits Aggressive implementation Hiring of a third-party entity to speed up the implementation of IT strategy Restructure the IT department and its operations under an experienced leader Assign the IT governance board to observe the implementation process 6 Months $10-20M Improvement of the IT service delivery performance in a short time span Attainment of the overall business objectives and contribute to the realignment of priorities. Accelerated Implementation Hiring of a third-party entity to speed up the implementation of IT strategy Reevaluate the management team while maintaining the IT leadership Update the business executives on the progress of the IT program 8-14 Months $5-10M The improvement of the IT systems and usage performance with minor alterations in the funding and priorities of the business Incremental improvements Not completely involve third parties in the implementation process Balance of the status quoin the leadership and management positions Make the program formal while adopting the changes using an agile methodology. 14-26MOnths $1-2M It’s a less costly approach which maintains the existing business funding or priorities Table 2: Improvement Road Map IT Element Current State Rating Corrective Actions People WW Company consists of a complex IT organizational model Red The simplification of IT organization model and alignment to suit business partners.   Slow application development software staff responsible for applications upgrades and functions   Outsource software development and maintenance team with a proven track record. Hire experienced IT leader to create a strong management team.   Customers and Business partners unsure whom to reach for IT services   Clarification of business-partner engagement processes and IT roles and. Process A non-existent formal process for reviewing and prioritizing IT requests Yellow Establish executive-level management and governance board for priority-index leveling   Limited management metrics on efficiency and effectiveness of IT staff   Development of smaller IT performance metrics.   Absent change control processes   Adopt working process framework, as overall methodology. such as ITIL, Technology Systems instability and staff monotony on routine activities Yellow Develop overall IT infrastructure and architecture for guidance of future investments.   Limited business intelligence at the terminal points   Invest in business intelligence for smooth workflow and competitive advantage.   Foreseen security issues and no formal risk management control program in place   Develop security program. Proposed IT Project In light of the business challenges that have influenced the operation of the WW Company, it therefore becomes important that the company invests in a Customer Relationship Management Software. One of the key challenges that affects the operation of the company is the level of interaction that exits between the employees and the customers. The drivers have been able to maintain a close link to their customers through their one on one interactions. It therefore becomes important to device a software that will be able to keep the business personnel and the clients at a constant communication bar to build trust and customer loyalty. The business should put the customer as its priority by generating various initiatives that tend to bind them together. The CRM software will be able to perform many different tasks among them being: 1. The management of sales 2. Facilitate marketing through advertisements 3. The system will be able to avail a 24/7 customer support unit 4. Inventory management will also be solved saving the officers at the terminals a heavy work load. Technical support services can also be channeled along this line from various departments and it will facilitate quicker response time. Risks associated with the project The Customer Relationship Software consists of different modules which are comprehensive and complex in nature. 1. The project might suffer cancellation before it is completed based on stagnating modules or complex functionalities which the developers may not be familiar with. 2. The project might also exceed the time frame with which it was allocated for due to various other inputs which had not been stated in the project charter or the insufficient number of developers to team up and work together on modularized segments. 3. The project is also likely to run an over budget due to the existence of numerous Model View Controller frameworks and different technologies for development. 4. The project may also contain numerous interdependent functionalities and tasks which might prove as a challenge during the testing process. These risks are however controllable by WW Company if comes up with a proper strategy to monitor the development of the project in a step wise procedure from documenting of the proposal to statement of the budgets and the time lines. Steps required to develop a business continuity plan for the most important it systems Business Continuity Planning states the various ways in which the company can be able to stay in the market amidst many challenges that might be hitting it such as key employees being coveted to other competing firms, the arrival of similar products or a company in the market gaining up at a faster momentum and threatening to capture the whole market segment. There are various steps that are important in continuity planning. These are: Step 1: Process Commitment The process has to be complemented by different stakeholders and supported fully. Various resources should be allocated and even sponsorships sort to successfully launch the program. Step 2: Objective Definition In the particular step, the senior management and business directors compose the mail goals and objectives of the company. Out of the goals stated, ranking is done to know the high-level objectives which must be guarded Step 3: Impact determination This particular steps involves the identification of factors that can be a possible threat to the business or salvage its operation. They may be attacks of various forms whether internal or external. Step 4: BC strategy creation This step is based on the management priorities and the possible impacts that may affect the business entity. The strategies are of two types; corrective remediation which minimizes the threat impact and regains the flow of operations and the Preventive remediation which stretches the company to its limits to protect its assets Step 5: BC Strategy Implementation This step involves the implementation of the strategies created Step 6: Ongoing Plan Maintenance This step ensures continuity in the process to sure that business operations are not at a constant threat. References Hanson, T. (2011). Developing an Information Strategy. EDUCAUSE Review, 46(6), 82. Chughtai, S., & Lane, D. (2011). Project Risk Management. The Chief Information Officer's Body of Knowledge: People, Process, and Technology, 165-170. Council, A. (2011). Business continuity planning. Read More