Variety and Experienced Pool of Employees in Planet Intra - Case Study Example

Issues Planet Intra, based in Windsor, Ontario, develops and offers Enterprise Information Portal (EIP) solution mainly to small and medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). The objective of the paper is to highlight and select Planet Intra’s overall strategy to meet the company’s desired goals. Alan McMillan, who is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, is not satisfied with the current pace of success and the same thoughts are being shared by the venture capitalists (VCs). The main goal for Planet Intra and the VCs is to achieve “liquidity”, this term relates to acquisition or purchase of another company by the Planet Intra or in simple terms increase net worth of the shareholders. Industry Analysis is necessary as industries performance vary differently (Dash 138). And the main purpose of industry analysis is to analyze the market and economic forces that affect an industry’s profit potential (Bensoussan and Fleisher 95). Strengths Variety and experienced pool of employees Planet Intra is led by an international team of professionally qualified and experienced group of people with backgrounds in consulting, technology, international management and customer relationship management (CRM). They are the real strength of the company and they have been able to ensure uninterrupted successful journey of the company. Global presence The company operates globally. Planet Intra has established four offices across the world. The offices in Tokyo, London, and Windsor and Mountain View locations are the main channels to fulfill the global demand of EIP solutions and services. VARs Value Added Resellers (VARs) are consulting firms and other system integrators who work as channel partners. They have contacts within the industry with the large corporations and SMEs and they are main source of revenues for the company as well. Weaknesses Reliance on VARs The heavy reliance of VARs may affect revenue stream. Currently, the VARs are charging 40 percent commission on per referral and there is no assurance that they continue with the current level of commission or they may increase their commission demand. The implications of this business relationship are that the VARs may require 60 percent commission on per referral and this would directly affect revenue and profit of the company. Opportunities Non-cyclical industries (Potential market) The company may focus on the non-cyclical or traditional industries. The industries such as oil and gas, health care and service sector may be considered as potential clients for the company. The chances of demand reduction in such sectors are marginal and the companies prefer to invest in their technology-intensive and communication-intensive aspects. Threats Downward correction in the stock markets The effects of downward correction in the stock markets have already forced many companies to withdraw their presence from the industry. At the same time, many companies are endeavoring to find out ways to decrease their cost of doing business. Decrease in the liquidity In the recent times, the level of liquidity has substantially diminished. According to the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), the aggregate worth of mergers and acquisitions encompassing VC-supported corporations in the United States during the first half of 2001 was US $ 9 billion and US $ 1.7 Billion were raised through IPOs. This figure is considerably smaller in comparison with the US$ 67 billion generated via mergers and acquisitions and US $ 24 billion collected via IPOs in 2000. Collectively, the effects of liquidity decrease may influence the existing situation of the company. Key Success Factors Experienced and diversified senior management is the key behind the success of company. Although the company is in process to devise a competitive and comprehensive strategy, the role of existing functional management has been the main driving force for the successful journey of the company till this point of time. Consumer Analysis Price User needs Geographic locations Who SMEs Online and offline data sharing, web access Dispersed globally What EIP solutions and web hosted When Upon need basis Where Headquarters and branch offices How EIP solutions shall be provided via online safe and secure means. Implications Price User needs Geographic locations Product There cannot be fixed shape or characteristics of product satisfying the needs of every client. Both have separate components to meet the client requirements. SMEs have different needs at headquarters and branch levels. So, separate product features shall be included in EIP solution to meet the specific requirements of the clients. Price Competitive prices shall be offered to attract and retain clients Promotion Different online and offline promotions shall be used particularly relevant to address the requirements of SMEs. Place Online channel shall be main place for interacting with the potential clients. Price User needs Geographic locations Who Large companies Online and offline data sharing, web access Dispersed globally What EIP solutions and web hosted When Upon need basis Where Headquarters and branch offices How EIP solutions shall be provided via online safe and secure means. Implications Price User needs Geographic locations Product It will be challenging to meet their requirements as the company mainly deals with the SMEs. Online and offline data sharing requires different features based on client requirements. VARs could be used to access the large companies. Price For the company, it would be challenging even to offer a competitive price for the product as the large companies have higher but complex EIP requirements. Promotion Promotion shall be mainly focusing the needs mainly required by the large companies. Place Both online and offline channels shall be used. Trade Analysis Both large and small consumers have similar product demands. First, in order to complete a sale, consumers are required to be able to see the benefits of an EIP solution and service. Second, if the potential consumers intend to avail EIP solution, the minimal demands encompassed security, scalability, extensibility, strong after-sale service and support and low per user-costs. After concluding these steps, the products are forwarded towards the clients as per their expectations. Competitive Analysis Planet Intra faces two types of competitors: small and large providers. Microsoft SharePoint, IBM Small Business Suite and Lotus Notes R5 are the large scale competitors providing comprehensive but expensive solution. The presence of large providers does not have serious business implications for the company as they have strong marketing strategy and expensive solutions for their respective customers. On the other hand, the solutions and services offered by the Planet Intra are not expensive and their clients would be less inclined to the services offered by the Planet Intra. The smaller providers are the main competitors as they offer same solutions and services that are being offered by the Planet Intra. The company management should plan their strategy to offer more competitive solutions and services to their clients by keeping in view the services and solutions offered by the competitors such as Eroom and Intranet.com. Alternative Analysis Focusing on large companies (oil and gas companies) can be a better way to increase sale and profit. Currently, Planet Intra is largely satisfying the product demands of the SMEs through its different dispersed branches and VARs. However, the recent trend indicates that the traditional companies such as oil and gas, health sector and service industry are largely embracing the latest means of coordination and communication through the use of technology. For capturing this market segment, the company will experience variance in variable and fixed costs. The variable cost shall increase as VARs shall be used to capture this market segment and the fixed cost shall remain the same as no additional office and relevant expenses shall be incurred. Additionally, developers and other staff may be required with the increase in the product demand. However, initially, the company will be trying to attain the breakeven point; no gain and no loss position by trying to minimize additional costs. Large companies (oil and gas companies) Product Price Promotion Pros Cons EIP solutions and web hosting Challenging to provide competitive price, but new regions such as Asia and developing parts of Europe could be used. Online and offline channels shall be employed. Television and newspapers and the Internet may be employed for promoting the product and its potential benefits for the potential and targeted clients. Increase in market and customer base. Increase in revenue and profit. VARs may increase their commission. This could diminish revenue and profit. Increase in cost by offering more salaries and benefits to additional staff of developers and other support staff. Educational institutions Product Price Promotion Pros Cons Web hosting and online connectivity services between host educational institutions and remote students Competitive prices shall be offered as this segment is rapidly growing. Both online and offline channels shall be used. However, direct promotion shall also be used. Special packages shall be offered to attract and retain customers. New inclusion of clients in the client base. Potential increase in profits. Stability and growth in aggregate performance of the company. Service delivery challenges. Service maintenance challenges. Cost, work burden and training and development cost rise will be expected. Service industry (banks and financial institutions) Product Price Promotion Pros Cons Web hosting, offering demand based web services Competitive prices shall be offered. Both online and offline channels shall be used. Sale and profit increase. New industry client and unique experience for the company. Challenging to meet the demand based services as hackers usually target banks. Difficult to maintain required gap between cost and price of the offered product. The implications are unavoidable. There will be a possibility to increase the number of developers and at the same time there is no way to avoid increase in commission required by the VARs as they will be main sources to bring clients to the company. Moreover, this could affect the potential increase in profit figure as well. Decision/Recommendation The target market shall be China and other developing countries. Developing countries have greater potential to attain and incorporate the latest means of technology to upgrade their business efficiency. The Chinese market has been growing and developing as there will be additional benefits that could be availed by the company. First, labor and cost of doing business in China are lesser in comparison with the countries like United States, United Kingdom and so on. With this aspect, there will be a possibility of opening up a new branch of the company instead of relying on the services of VARs. The promotion shall be done in the existing methods. The strategic or senior management shall be monitoring the promotion strategy and providing guideline on need basis. A competitive price shall be offered to the clients and the senior management will be determining and monitoring the distribution strategy. Although VARs will be used to bring small and large clients from the Chinese market, the senior management should more focus on establishing branch office. This action plan will enable the company to increase its revenue and profits as well at the same time, the company will be able to reduce its cost with the absence of VARs. References Bensoussan, Babette, E. &, Fleisher, Craig S. Analysis without Paralysis: 10 Tools To Make Better Strategic Decisions. New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2008. Print. Dash, Ambika Prasad. Analysis and Portfolio Management. New Delhi: I.K. International, 2009. Print. Read More