Telstra Company - Impact of Information Technologies on Business - Case Study Example

IMPACT OF IT ON BUSINESS Name Course Professor Date Impact of IT on Business Table of Content Table of Content 2 List of Abbreviations 3 Impact of IT on Business 4 Executive Summary 4 Introduction 5 Impact of IT 5 Necessity of IT 5 Requirements of IT application 6 Important of IT for Business Survival 6 Application of IT 7 Benefits and Advantages of IT 8 Risks of IT 9 Maintaining and Monitoring of IT 10 Conclusion 10 Recommendation 10 References 11 List of Abbreviations IT: Information Technology TCL: Telstra Corporation Limited HR: Human Resource AIS: Accounting Information System CRM: Customer Relationship Management CAD: Computer-Aid Design Impact of IT on Business Executive Summary IT has a significant influence on the business operations as some organization relies on it directly and others indirectly. Telstra is one of the telecommunication companies that are providing its customers with IT products and services. The company is also applying IT in the designing of its products and also in the installation of its equipment. The application of IT in its operations has enabled the company receives immense benefits and advantages that range from improved efficiency to gaining competitiveness in the market. Further, Telstra Company has an efficient mechanism to ensure that its IT systems are properly maintained and regularly monitored for continuous operations. However, if the risks that are associated with IT are not appropriately mitigated, the business might incur massive losses. The report concluded that effective implementation of IT applications would bring more positive impacts if accompanied with efficient threats control mechanisms. Therefore, this report recommends that businesses should exploit the opportunities that are available for the application of IT to boost their growth and development in the current stiff competitive environment. Introduction Information Technology (IT) is dramatically changing the lives of people and business enterprises. The application of IT has resulted to online shopping, social networking, digital communication and cloud computing. Currently, IT is providing many tools that are widely used in the business corporations for planning, selling, effective marketing, strategic management and provision of customer services to improve the overall performance. The application of IT has enabled the firms to be able to monitor and manage their subsidiaries in a virtual manner, improve their efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness in the market. Therefore, this paper will discuss the impact of IT in Telstra Corporation Limited (TCL). Impact of IT Necessity of IT The operations of Telstra highly depend on the application of IT. The company is involved in the provision of the IT products and services for such as mobile phones and homes networks, Pay TV and fixed and wireless internet (Fisher et al. 2007). Therefore, IT is an essential component in the operations of the company. Requirements of IT application IT services are required in the designing, equipment, and installation of the products in the Telstra Company. For instance, the company is using IT applications in the installation of its Network boosters to ensure that its consumers receive adequate access to internet services (Fisher et al. 2007). Further, the equipment that the company is using is the specialist for the provision of IT services. Moreover, the products and services that the firm is providing to its consumers are also designed with the application of IT. Important of IT for Business Survival IT plays a vital role in the survival of TCL in the competitive market. The company is using IT in its marketing strategies to reach a large number of potential consumers in different parts of the world such as in the television advertisements and the use of websites (Miranda et al. 2012). The application of IT in the marketing strategies has enabled the company to receive the significant number of Internet and network service subscribers. IT is used to conduct marketing research. The company is applying the use of Cloud Computing software to conduct market research (Sandler 2008). The software can avail the required information such as the demographic data of a certain target consumer group in a particular region and the demand trend for its products and services. IT is used in the company to reduce the cost of operations. The consumers intend to pay relatively less amount on the products which force the company to lower the prices. The company is committed to the reduction of prices by lowering the operations expenses through the automation of its services. The firm is using IT in the Department of Human Resources to increase the productivity of the workforce and reducing the cost of manufacturing the products. Telstra is one of the major companies in the world that have been successful through the use of IT and therefore, many companies would like to use similar IT devices to conquer the market. It has made the company to minimize the level of competition by making it difficult for other firms to copy its products or services (Sandler 2008). The company has made it possible by acquiring legal protection documents such as Intellectual property. Further, the company is utilizing IT systems that are expensive in the market which makes it unaffordable to other firms that would wish to purchase the same. Application of IT The company is improving the efficiency and effectiveness of its operations by applying the use of technology. For instance, the Finance department is using the Accounting Information Systems (AIS) in the processing of the financial records of the company (Sandler 2008). Further, the management of the workforce is being done using Human Resource (HR) systems where the records of the staffs are safely stored, and the evaluation of employee performance appraisal can be done with much ease. Telstra Company is using IT systems to reach more customers with much ease using limited workforce and resources. The company has allowed the consumers to use online mobile phone payment and credit card processing to make their purchases network services (Gotterbarn 2012). The company can conduct virtual meetings and queued customer care services to engage with the clients. Further, the company uses IT systems to manage its customer care services. Recently the company launched a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems that are integrated with a network of computers and telephone calls that the clients make. It makes the company provide effective network services where the consumers are situated consistently. Moreover, Telstra firm is using IT in the management of its supply chain. The company is using the computer networks to monitor, control and facilitate the operations of the supply channels (Miranda et al. 2012). The company is using CAD systems in the automatic transmission of data CAM systems. Benefits and Advantages of IT Storage and protection of information. Telstra Company has been able to protect its valuable records using IT systems. The business has integrity for being successfully securely maintaining the patient and customer files properly. The firm has been able to bare the unauthorized individuals from accessing the confidential information of the users (Dyt and Halabi 2007). Further, the company has been able to use IT security engineering systems that have protected the computers of the firm from being hacked. Telstra Company has been able to improve efficiency and effectiveness in its operations by automating the process using IT systems. The automation of process in the company has made the firm to attract more consumers as people can access the services faster as compare to the competitors (Dyt and Halabi 2007). Further, the automation of services has enabled the company to reduce the cost of labor as few people are required to operate the systems. Enhance effective communication. The company has been able to engage with its suppliers and the consumers through the use of IT applications quickly and effectively (Gotterbarn 2012). The company has been receiving complaints and comments via the emails and phone calls from the consumers which have enabled them to improve delivery of products and services. Risks of IT There are several risks that IT would bring to Telstra Company. The IT systems of the company can be attacked by a logic bomb where there is preprogrammed software that is intended to cause interruptions at a particular time during operations (Miranda et al. 2012). In case it happened, the company would create a huge loss as the affected consumers might file lawsuits against the company. There are other non-malicious or unintentional damages that can make the company experience a loss such inadequate skills among the workforce due to poor training. Employee employees might also ignore some essential backup procedures that can result in a huge loss of the company’s files (Dyt and Halabi 2007). Further, staff in the Telstra Company might download and install unauthorized software that can damage the IT systems. Moreover, human beings are bound to make mistakes, and therefore the staffs of the company might make mistakes while operating one of the IT systems which would result in a significant loss. Telstra Company is involved in the provision of network services to its consumers which can be blocked by an attacker (Sandler 2008). The attacker might be having an aim of denying the delivery of services by launching a series of Dos attack on the computer systems of the company. The attacks can cause the sluggish flow of the legitimate traffic on the firm’s websites. Hijacking is another risk factor that the IT system of Telstra Company can face. The authorized individuals can invade the resources of the computers of the company without the consent of the operator to either access or manipulate the available files in the IT systems. It would make the confidential information of the Telstra and its consumers to leak to unauthorized people who can be used to harm the owners (Dyt and Halabi 2007). Hijacking can be done by sending the spam or planting of bots that would exhaust security holes in the communication software and operating systems. Maintaining and Monitoring of IT Telstra Company is dedicated to the maintenance of its IT equipment by conducting regular repairs to maintain efficient operations. The company has well-structured routine checkups that engineers normally does to upgrade the software to ensure that there are reliable network work and internet services for the consumers (Fisher et al. 2007). The company is using the monitoring application software that oversees the routine operations to ensure that they are no interruptions of service deliveries. Conclusion There are significant impacts on IT in the Telstra Company. The company is involved in the delivery of products and services to its consumers that are IT related, and it is a necessary element in the operations. The IT has massive benefits that range from the improvement of efficiency to the reduction of the operational costs. However, the company might experience cyber threats if there is no proper security mechanism. Recommendation The report would recommend that firms should exploit the opportunities that IT offers to improve their productivity, efficiency of operations and to curb stiff competition that is being experienced in many markets. For those benefits to be realized the company should have effective maintenance and monitoring schedules to ensure, there are no interruptions during operations. However, it is advisable to establish appropriate security of the IT systems to avoid losing data or protecting the information from being accessed by unauthorized parties. References Dyt, R. and Halabi, A.K., 2007. Empirical evidence examining the accounting information systems and accounting reports of small and micro business in Australia. Small Enterprise Research, 15(2), pp.1-9. Miranda, K., Natalizio, E. and Razafindralambo, T., 2012. Adaptive deployment scheme for mobile relays in substitution networks. International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks. Sandler, J., 2008. Developing Telecommunications eLearning modules: Flexible performance support. iJAC, 1(1), pp.34-38. Fisher, J., Craig, A. and Bentley, J., 2007. Moving from a Web Presence to e‐Commerce: The Importance of a Business—Web Strategy for Small‐Business Owners. Electronic Markets, 17(4), pp.253-262. Gotterbarn, D., 2012, September. Corporate social media use policy: Meeting business and ethical responsibilities. In IFIP International Conference on Human Choice and Computers (pp. 387-398). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Read More