Terra Firmas New IT Services - Case Study Example

Terra Firma’s New IT services Student’s Name: ID Number: Date: Executive Summary Considering the importance of IT function within the organisation, the management should adopt proactive approach towards developing a new system. The failure in existing system is a clear indication that the organisation need to set-up new one which is able to respond to current market demands. Although the top management may opt to improve the existing IT system, there is a great need to address the challenges that come with changing business environment. Adoption of new IT infrastructure and the system that is able to cater for the existing and future needs of the organisation. One of the main aims of changing to a new system includes the need for operational efficiency and cost effectiveness. Helping the employees carry out their duties efficiently enables the company to cut down expenses. Work is done more quickly while maintaining or even improving the quality of output. Such aspect is part of the advantages of new system. The organisation needs to establish corporate level IT as well as improve end-user system. Terra Firma’s is an ideal example of an organisation that is in need of replacing the existing IT system with new one to facilitate easy realisation of goals and services. Introduction Information technology plays a critical role in determining the progress of any business firm in competitive economies. Currently, IT is a major function that top management should consider seriously in order to facilitate efficiency in operations. The function is also a key attribute of an organisation that values emerging trends in global business environment (Hayes, & Westrup, 2012). It helps the business to cope with ever-rising challenges by enhancing adaptability in changing atmosphere. In respect of this aspect, the organization with proper and effective IT function is able to deal with challenges associated with changing environment. It provides the business with competitive edge in the market thus helping the management and entire organisation to realise goals and objective (Underwood, & Khosrowshahi, 2012). Embedding the function of IT within an organisation comes with a cost which the top management should be ready to incur. It requires the deliberate action from business leaders by allocating adequate funds to set up and maintain the IT infrastructure (Löblich, & Wendelin, 2012). The set-up process start with analysing needs of organisation and expectation of the management from the system. Once this is done, the organisation should think of hiring competent IT manager who is able to integrate the expectation of the management with the system. Competent manager who is an expert in the field of IT interprets expectations of management and provides essential advice before setting up the infrastructure (Wakunuma, & Stahl, 2014). Consequently, the management is able to understand major aspects of IT and how it contributes towards organisational success. An ideal IT infrastructure is the one that is able to respond to the needs of an organisation. The main aim of an IT function is to enhance efficiency in organisational operations (Hayes, & Westrup, 2012). It implies that the function is in position to help the staff to work with speed and accuracy while minimising the operational cost. Most organisations which utilise IT services often realise high returns as well as low production cost. In current competitive business environment, such services are essential to sustain profitability of commercial enterprises. To maintain proper functioning of IT within an organisation, frequent service is paramount. The system requires upgrading from time to time in pursuit of responding to changing market demands. Any aspect of change should be addressed by upgrading the internal IT system hence retaining optimum performance (Cardona, et al, 2013). This report addresses the need for developing a new IT design for Terra Firma Company and possible impact of such step towards its production and overall performance. It is all about contribution of IT function towards organisational efficiency. Developing New IT Services For Terra Firma’s Company a) Business Requirement – Initially, Terra Firma’s had no suitable IT infrastructure for corporate functions. There was need to develop a new IT service to be used for corporate purposes thus improving the liaison between the head office and field outlets in different localities. Establishment of centralised IT function at corporate level would help Terra Firma’s in managing its operations from one place. Instead of spreading IT staff in different field offices, the function is better run from single point. Such initiative reduces the number of staff needed in running the company’s operations. It also enables the IT team to locate and rectify any problem that might arise easily and quickly (Rummler, & Brache, 2012). In this regard, centralisation of IT function at corporate level enhances efficiency and cost effectiveness. b) Service Level Packages – Developing a corporate level IT function in central place has various advantages. First, it fosters a reliable and strong IT team since there is frequent interaction among staff members. When people work together, they develop each other by sharing knowledge and critical information concerning the system. Second, it reduces manager’s workload since he can access the whole IT team in one place more often than when they are in different places (Gomez, & Pather, 2011). Such aspect also facilitates operational efficiency. The initiative provides confidence to the management that that IT function works for the good of an organisation. c) Assessment of Existing IT Infrastructure – By looking at the information provided in the Terra Firma’s case study, it is clear that current infrastructure requires little adjustment. All field offices should be inter-connected in order to manage them from central point. The company is financially capable of supporting the project given the fact that it supports the current one which is quite complex and demanding. d) Service Level Agreements – The management should understand that developing a corporate level IT function benefits internal operation by improving the level of service delivery to customers (Gomez, & Pather, 2011). The team is able to provide supervision on activities of each office and locate any form of defect. Since the major requirement is to improve efficiency, centralisation of IT function does it increasing surveillance and eradicating delay caused by minor system defects. e) IT Service Continuity Plan and Scrutiny Framework – Continuity is one of the essential aspects of corporate level IT function. Losing one IT staff cannot cause any delay in production or any other operation within and outside the organisation. The business continues as usually since all IT staff members have adequate information concerning the system unlike when they are located in different locations. The team is also able to determine access rights of different system’s users thus enhancing security of corporate information. f) Main Suppliers Associated With the Service – For this service to succeed, the management in consultation with IT team need to engage various suppliers. These include suppliers of effective servers, efficient operation system’s developers and internet security software providers. Supply of these products and services is essential in determining the success of this project. However, the management need to enter into contractual agreement with these suppliers. Such agreements may include issues of maintenance and subsequent cost. New IT Services Video Conferencing Video conferencing is an important IT service which has several service level packages which provide high level of utility as well as warranty. They include recording capability, high quality signal for both visual and audio services and one on one visual communication. Video conferencing service is also made available throughout the day hence a reliable tool for modern IT functions within the organisation. This is part of corporate level IT service that Terra Firma’s business needs to adopt to facilitate operational efficiency. Sales force Sales force comes along with various service level packages which enable the organisation to derive high utility and warranty from the service. It enhances payment management in an organisation. It also facilitates efficiency in managing products flow within the business premises. In addition, sales force IT service avails products’ data and essential information whenever needed thus enhancing proficiency. Just like video conferencing, sales force is readily available throughout the day to ensure smooth operations. Recommendations The IT staff in collaboration with the respective manager should seek to convince the top management on the need to adopt the two services. The team should demonstrate how end-user system relates with company performance. It should also prove the urgency of corporate IT system in relation to internal efficiency (Wulf, et al, 2011). End-user service aims at helping customers and the general public access the organisation electronically. The aspect of easy accessibility increases engagement level with the market which may lead to more sales as well as popularity. Provision of this information is a key factor in requesting the Terra Firma’s management why the organisation needs to shift to the new system. Transition plan involves various activities such as setting up of servers in every outlet and interconnecting them with main server in headquarters. The IT team has a task of introducing the whole organisation to the new system (Vogt, et al, 2011). This may be done by conducting training sessions where different users are informed of their access rights to the system. The rights depend mainly on individual tasks within the organisation. These activities should be conducted within specified period in order to avoid transition delays. The IT team and external consultants may conduct training sessions in various locations concurrently to meet the set deadlines (Lacity, et al, 2012). The transition to the new system may go hand in hand with existing one before rolling the system fully. This is because employees may take time to adapt to the new system thus they need to learn and perfect it. There is also need to make several improvements to the current data system which may act as a preliminary back-up in case the new one fails to take off successfully. This is important aspect in transition period where the system goes through testing while still retaining the old one. Conclusion IT function is the backbone of other functions within an organisation. It is the live-blood that keeps the organisation alive especially during this era of digital operations. It is the major tool that facilitates corporate communication thus keeping the organisation in constant contact with outside world. Terra Firma’s should consider this aspect of transition to new and more effective IT system with due seriousness. Failure to this may lead to organisation losing all benefits and opportunities the system provides. The function of information technology links all other functions together. This is where every department depends on IT function in daily operations and efficiency. The system provides HR data which indicates payroll information among other issues that touches on employees. It also provides back-up to other departments such as Sales and Finance. It makes it easier to retrieve this information whenever it is required thus enhancing quick reference. Safety and maintenance of this information depends on effectiveness of IT function. To enhance efficiency in IT functions, centralisation of services is of prime importance. For the department to provide necessary support to the organisation, IT staff needs to embrace frequent sharing of information. Information sharing enables staff members in this department to gain knowledge and necessary expertise. It makes it possible to maintain continuity in case one staff from the department leaves the organisation. 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