IT Organisation and Planning - Essay Example

Information Systems Management Information technology has become omnipresent in today’s business world right from small enterprises to huge private or public sector organisations. Nowadays an organisation’s business plans incorporate information technology as their integral part. The application of information technology to support the major operations and accomplishments of organisations is termed as Information Systems Management. Organisations have recognized the adoption of information technology and advanced web oriented services like cloud computing as vital for their profitability and survival in the competitive business scenario. This report will explain in detail about information technology organisation and planning in an organisation, its advantages and drawbacks, one such internet based information technology advancement that is, cloud computing concepts, the leading cloud computing service provider that is, Amazon web services (AWS), pros and cons in cloud computing usage, the general management oriented implications that is internal and external factors affecting the adoption of information technology in business and lastly, how IT adoption could be used for the solution to the Chrichton/Diggitin scenario. IT organisation and planning Information technology (IT) organisation and planning involves the establishment, monitoring, and maintenance of and information technology systems and services in an organisation (Rouse 2013). It also involves the strategic planning process not only for the present day but also for the future information technology initiatives of an organisation. The IT strategic planning process must support an organisation to achieve its business objectives. The IT organisation and planning process must be able to meet out the needs of all facets of an organisation like, technology management, human resource management, cost management, vendor management, software and hardware management, risk management, and others (Rouse 2013). The IT organisation and planning is a formalized process which could be documented to check for its compliance with the strategic goal establishments. In order to meet up with the emerging organisational priorities and circumstances, core competencies, constrains on budgets, emerging technologies, understanding of the users, and business objectives, the IT organisation and planning process must be flexible enough. The IT organisation and planning is the most important process in an organisation due to the fact that, it either directly integrates to or indirectly influences each and every other process of the organisation. The IT organisation and planning process may include the below mentioned six phases (Haydamack 2008). The first one is the development of the vision mission statements from the top level management which helps communicate the focus areas by providing the appropriate directions. Next phase is the development of technology and business outlook for the organisation for long terms. The business strategies and the new developments and trends in technology take for example the emerging trends of the internet based cloud computing, and others are reviewed in this phase (Haydamack 2008). This phase helps to shape the deliverables of the IT organisation in a better way suitable for the future. The next phase is the analysis of the current state in terms of IT’s processes, systems, investments, and others. This would help to compare the current state of the organisation with the long term outlook thereby identifying potential gaps and incorporating adjustments towards the IT expenditure plans and areas of technical focus (Haydamack 2008). The next phase involves development of annual budgets and investment plans. This phase focuses on the analysis of priorities for the future and developing roadmaps to reach them. The next phase is the governance and decision making. In order to implement the strategic plan, several decisions regarding investments, project chartering, sourcing, supplier selection, and others are taken in this phase and implemented on a short term basis. The final phase is a measurement phase including a positive feedback. The organisations actions are verified against the planning process, investment plans, and business objectives (Haydamack 2008). This measurement helps the organisation for incorporating the needed technological inclusions to keep in track with the business competition. The application of information technology for organisational accomplishments has both advantages and risks associated with it. Globalization is its greatest advantage. The world has evolved as a global village due to the advancements of IT that has made the world’s economy a single interdependent system. IT has made easier direct face to face interactions thus enabling communication faster, cheaper, and better (Kumar 2014). IT has streamlined business by computerizing it entirely hence making business very cost effective. IT maximizes business productivity. IT has reduced prejudice by bridging the cultural gap between people by bringing them together enabling the exchange of their ideas and views. IT has made business to be open for 24 × 7 across the globe. IT has created abundant job opportunities and provided employment for millions. At the same time there are also drawbacks of Information technology mainly privacy related issues like cell phone interceptions, mail hackings, data breaches, and many more. As already mentioned IT has streamlined the business process which has created downsizing and job redundancies (Kumar 2014). The advent of IT has made jobs insecure for people. This is because newer technologies emerge every day and in order to keep their jobs secure people have to undergo a never ending learning process. IT has also become the dominant culture suppressing weaker ones. It has negatively influenced the life style of several teenagers and even language has become overshadowed (Kumar 2014). Despite these disadvantages IT continues its rapid growth and several new internet based technologies have emerged in recent times which have revolutionized the IT concepts of business enterprises. Cloud computing is one such technology. Cloud Cloud computing has become the buzzword for industries and businesses irrespective of their sizes. According to a survey taken by Right scale in January 2015, 82% of enterprises have adopted the cloud computing strategy, which is 8% increase when compared to 2014 survey reports (Weins 2015). Cloud computing has become the mode of information technology model which could be accessed over the internet. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), “Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction” (Hossain 2014). Cloud computing is capable of provisioning and de-provisioning of IT resources in an on-demand basis without the need for any human intervention. It provides access to the network in a ubiquitous manner. Cloud computing provides a pool of resources to the users which could be allocated and re-allocated in a dynamic fashion. Cloud-based IT services can handle heavy traffic of resource requirement by rapidly expanding the resources in an elastic manner. When the traffic subsides, the resources are released in an automated fashion (Hossain 2014). The users can make use the cloud computing services in a pay-on-use basis. There are three service models in cloud computing. They are Software as a Service (SaaS) in which applications are hosted by a service provider on a cloud infrastructure and they are accessed by remote clients, Platform as a Service (PaaS) provides middleware, solutions, and infrastructure for the development of applications, and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) delivers computing infrastructure to the clients (Hossain 2014). Also cloud computing provides different kinds of deployment models like public cloud, private cloud, community cloud, and hybrid cloud. In a public cloud model the service provider provides resources which are utilized by various organisations on a pay as you go (PAYG) basis. In private cloud, the cloud resources are solely owned by an enterprise and the computing resources are protected by the corporate firewall (Hossain 2014). According to Right scale’s survey 88 % of business enterprises are using public cloud and 63 % are using private cloud and 13 % of organisations run more than 1,000 virtual machines in public cloud, while 22 % of organisations run more than 1,000 virtual machines in private cloud (Weins 2015).In a community cloud the cloud infrastructure is shared by multiple organisations. Hybrid cloud is the combination of the above mentioned cloud deployment models linked by standardized branded technology. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the leading cloud service provider as on date (Weins 2015). AWS adoption by enterprises is 57 % while Azure IaaS ranks second with12% (Weins 2015). AWS is capable of providing a full featured development platform that is widely distributed at the same time, maintain the cost requirement considerably low compared to the cost requirement needed for conventional infrastructure. At the same time building a conventional infrastructure consumes a lot of time and installation of hardware and software could be very expensive (“Cloud computing with,” 2015). AWS demands zero upfront investment and it is enough if the enterprise pays only for services what it has utilized. On developing and launching new applications, companies may be uncertain about the number of customers who would adopt the applications. AWS gives flexibility for companies for either scaling up or down based on the requirement (Amazon 2015). AWS also supports self-provisioning of resources as per the demands. Massive number of servers can be deployed in no time and without the need to negotiate with anyone else. Thus speed and suppleness is a great advantage of AWS. A company can provide service to all its customers irrespective of their geographical location with the help of AWS (Amazon 2015). Also AWS allows the customers to enjoy minimal delay and rich technical experience thus there is no surprise in global reach of the company’s reputation. All these features have made AWS to become the leader in the field of cloud computing services. So far we have discussed the positive impacts of cloud computing services. Any technology would definitely have both pros and cons. In the forthcoming section, let us discuss in detail about the advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing services. The most important advantage of cloud computing service is cost effectiveness. Cloud computing services can reduce the overall IT cost for a business enterprise thereby maximizing the profit of the enterprise and minimizing its capital and operational costs. The enterprise relies on remote servers and the need and cost for building onsite servers and other infrastructural needs gets totally eliminated (Level Cloud). Almost all the service providers are accessible at all times and so cloud computing services are consistent and reliable. Reliability is ascertained from the fact that failure of one server does not affect, because the service will be retrieved from other servers of the massive server pool. “With the Managed Service Platform, Cloud Computing is much more reliable and consistent than in-house IT infrastructure” (Level Cloud). The need for updating and maintaining onsite servers is totally eliminated. Special installations are not needed because web based user interfaces are available for accessing software and services (Level Cloud). So, cloud computing services are more manageable and can facilitated businesses to focus on their core operations. “Businesses can forget about technology and focus on their key business activities and objectives” (Level Cloud) There are also drawbacks. The cloud is internet powered. Therefore to make use of services it is necessary to be connected to the internet. If the net connectivity fails not even a single cloud computing service can be utilized. And also service providers are flooded with client requests every day and there are possibilities technical outages to happen (Level Cloud). At such downtimes all services would be suspended and sometimes terminated. There are always security risks in internet based services. Vital information is stored in an external service provider, so there are always chances of information breach. Sensitive data might get leaked that may cause financial loss or reputational havoc to the enterprise. “Although Cloud service providers tend to implement the best security standards and industry certifications, storing data and important files on external service providers always opens up risks” (Level Cloud). Cloud computing service providers are not compatible with each other. “Hosting and integrating current Cloud applications on another platform will have interoperability and support issues” (Level Cloud). So migration from one service provider to the other would be a difficult task for a client. Cloud computing does refer to not a single term but a broad term that incorporates a variety of services like Infrastructure as a service which forms the base of the cloud computing concept, Platform as a service which serves as a tool for development of software applications and Software as a service providing a variety of application oriented services. Cloud computing is now facing a rapid acceleration pace that every organisation is trying to migrate into it. For these organisations it is very important to understand in depth the various aspects of cloud computing so that they could choose the most appropriate type of service provider according to their needs (Level Cloud). Also cloud computing pros and cons have to be analyzed carefully because it can prove to be an asset for an organisation, at the same time do harm if not properly understood and utilized. Cloud computing adoption or any other new technology adoption has a lot of management implications. The factors influencing the adoption of IT in enterprises can be categorized as internal and external (Ghobakhloo, Hong, Sabouri and Zulkifl 2012). The technological and organisational frameworks influencing the adoption of IT in an enterprise may be termed as internal factors. Technological framework describes the internal technologies pertinent to the enterprise. Organisational framework describes the procedures concerning the organisation, such as size of the enterprise and scope, executive structure and internal resources (Ghobakhloo, Hong, Sabouri and Zulkifl 2012). However external factors, refer to the factors within the environmental context that describe the arena in which a firm conducts its business like the type of industry, its competitors and dealings with government(Ghobakhloo, Hong, Sabouri and Zulkifl 2012). So the successful adoption of IT in enterprises has to balance the above mentioned influencing factors. However, when viewed from an overall perspective, it is evident that advantages easily outweigh the disadvantages, and that is the main reason why Cloud Computing is being optimally used by organizations in various sectors. Case Study Let us now see how IT adoption could be helpful for the solution to the Chrichton/Diggitin scenario. We would discuss how IT could help in overcoming the poor staff management issues and technical problems at Chrichton/Diggitin. Chaotic in dealing with the workload is the first and foremost problem at Chrichton/Diggitin. Chrichton/Diggitin scenario reveals the need for meeting out high performance standards and stringent availability in order to satisfy their customer requirements. Workload automation tools can help in handling chaotic workload by providing software solution abiding to the business policies thus providing cross application and platforms, and peer-to-peer automation with least manual intervention (Audenis 2014). Work load automation tools efficiently enhance the exploitation of system resources by coordinating workloads providing Chrichton/Diggitin, an organisation wide outlook for IT operations. Work load automation analyses business priorities and allocates suitable resources accordingly. Work load automation also allocates job accountabilities to individual staff members by which they can understand clearly their responsibilities and act accordingly. Continuous and systematic surveillance can prevent the misusing of company resources. Employers can track their employees who play games and other unwanted activities with the help of computer monitoring programs like SpyAgent, Silent Watch Shadow, Web Sleuth, and Shadow, and others (Bonsor). Diggitin staff relocation issues can be handled effectively by announcing special offers and incentives for workers who work on deputation. Properly recognizing workers for their willingness for working at different branch places could greatly solve issues of relocation. The company’s possessions are meant for improving business and should not be misused for personal purposes. Unauthorized utilization of company’s resources and internet can be monitored by checking out browsing history, cookies, temporary internet files, and recent documents. There are also several technological problems Chrichton/Diggitinis facing and one among them is poor database storage. This problem could be overcome by using cost effective database storage management. This would manage and store data effectively and efficiently, optimize the storage performance, keep down the overall storage cost, accelerate the process of queries and answer retrieval for the customers, and protect the data from lost. Advanced database management system like ‘Oracle 12c’ would integrate data optimization and database storage management in a cost effective manner, so that it would help Chrichton/Diggitin to deal with data loss, data growth, optimized utilization of resources while keeping down the complexity management associated with it, and meet out the demands of the garden accessories and design business (Oracle). The lack of central database can be solved by adoption of cloud computing services which would provide the necessary support by providing data and information from all the available resources in an on-demand basis. Illegal copies of software could lead Chrichton/Diggitin to high risks of exposure to viruses, disk corruption, lack of support in terms of technical faults, lack of warranties, and many more (File Maker). So, it is always good to make use of copyrighted version. Chrichton/Diggitin could approach department of legal file makers, anti-piracy hotline of the business software alliance in this regard. Chrichton/Diggitin can make use technologies similar to E-governance, incorporating it while the use of LAN, WAN, internet, and other mobile related services. This would help the company to reduce cost and enhance delivery of services to the best of customer satisfaction. Computerized stock control systems could help in stock and pricing problems. Cloud computing services provide an extensive variety of sources that would help to incorporate stock and pricing schemes along with accounting and invoicing schemes. For the automated update of balance stocks and statistics, sales and purchases order processing are to be integrated together (Info Entrepreneurs). This would help to monitor stocks automatically at the same time, finding out fastest and cheapest outsourcing suppliers. Radio frequency identification and bar code schemes can also help in the stock and pricing issue thereby providing best quality service. So, the adoption of Cloud computing and other information technology oriented services could greatly help to find solutions to the Chrichton/Diggitin scenario and make the enterprise very successful both in terms of IT adoption and business turnover. The competitiveness of a nation’s economy can be enhanced using the powerful tool, Information Technology. Consensus regarding information technologies impact on the productivity of firms could be made very evident if and only if IT adoption into business is preached, spread, and utilized as wide as possible. The process of adoption of IT into firms could be facilitated by adhering to certain theoretical models of adoption like Diffusion of Innovation, Technology, Organization, and Environment framework, and others. The diffusion of innovation models suggests that antecedents of an enterprise’s innovativeness are its individual characteristics, internal and external organizational characteristics. At the same time the technology, organization and environment framework reasons out technological, organizational, and environmental contexts for the adoption of innovative technology in an enterprise. A detailed study of the combination of the above adoption models can assist firms in embracing innovative concepts of information technology into their business stream. Also among various technologies inherent in the IT domain, cloud computing is the latest and most powerful as far as business organizations are concerned. If an organization has to build a large scale IT system of its own it has to spend a lot in hardware, software, their management, security, operating personnel, and many more. But for adopting the cloud infrastructure the organization needs to invest almost nil upfront infrastructures costs. Parallelization in resource utilization improves the speed of operations several times, dynamic allocation of resources, costing according to usage and many more are impressive features of cloud computing and would be very apt for organizations that aim to succeed both in terms functionality and money making. References Amazon., 2015. Cloud Computing with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Available from http://aws.amazon.com/what-is-aws/ Audenis, G., 2014. Controlling the Chaos: Workload Automation. Available from http://www.orsyp.com/blog/703-controlling-the-chaos-workload-automation/ Bonsor, K. Is your workplace tracking your computer activities? Available from http://computer.howstuffworks.com/workplace-surveillance1.htm File Maker. Avoid Software Piracy. 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Available from http://www.levelcloud.net/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-cloud- computing/(accessed on April 10, 2015) Oracle. Database storage management. Available from http://www.oracle.com/us/products/database/storage- management/overview/index.html Rouse, M., 2013. IT organisation. Available from http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/IT-organisation-information-technology- organisation Weins, K., 2015. Cloud Computing Trends: 2015 State of the Cloud Survey. Available from http://www.rightscale.com/blog/cloud-industry-insights/cloud-computing-trends- 2015-state-cloud-survey Read More