IMT Custom Machine Company, Inc.: Selection of an Information Technology Platform - Case Study Example

IMT Custom Machine Company, Inc Selection of an Information Technology Platform What do you think of the particular assignment given to Browning? Browning’s work was really tough for an individual who had no much experience and had yet to complete his MBA. The IS had failed to be resolved permanently by the experienced engineers with over 25 years of experience. He had a lot of pressure to not only find the problem but come up with several recommendations and all that work only within six weeks.

The fact that the whole organization was dependent on him made the assignment way harder and more challenging than it already was but he shouldered it well. 2. Consider CMCI’s Mission/Vision Statement (see case Exhibit 4) and the Fort Wayne MIS Directions and Objectives Statement (see case Exhibit 5). What is your opinion of these statements? Are they appropriate? Are they comprehensive? Are they at the correct level of generality? Were these statements appropriately developed and adopted? The mission/ vision and goals are good but cannot be said to be among the best.

The vision for example needs to be more specific and focus on one aspect to avoid confusion to those following it. The objectives also need to be explained in detail as they guide the attainment of the goals and mission of the company and hence should be as comprehensive as possible without deviating from the main point (Nelson and DeHayes 120). They are however appropriate until the new system is implemented and then they can be changed. 3. Discuss the specific developments within CMCI over the previous five years and currently under consideration that have impacted or will impact the overall information systems architecture at the Fort Wayne plant.

CMCI had the Computer-Aided Design (CAD) which would serve a lot of users than other designs and do so within a shorter response time. This would aid in serving the front offices as well as the numerous number of users in the large Fort Wayne offices. The other is the INFO which is in the mainframe and is a negotiation program that would assist in analysis of the data in negotiations deals and contracts that were ongoing which would simplify work for everyone involved in the negotiation project.

The INFO is a futuristic creation developed from MDB and WILMEC which were negotiations programs used in the past. The DBOMP was a drawing database which was used to handle the vertical type materials when they were transferred but it was limited to some actions and the engineers at Fort Wayne did not know how to use it and it fell redundant though it had assisted. 4. Consider Browning’s four options by listing the pros and cons of adopting each based upon the material given in the case study as well as your reading and general knowledge of information systems.

The first is movement towards centralized computing environment. This is where the mainframe will still be used for some operations while the new system will be implemented and the older and smaller systems phased out. This is the best option as it will incorporate the best of the old and the new and this will improve IS and be permanent. Workstation computing through completely phasing out the mainframe is not a good option as the new system seeking to be installed and used of UNIX lack much support from the engineers and will still be user unfriendly and hence the mainframe will have to be doing all the work.

Outsource management of servers into one data center to manage virtual machines. Outsourcing is the best option at the moment as the new systems needed lacks expertise within the company and would therefore not be able to be kick started by the current engineering team without training. Doing nothing just watching and waiting to see what the other engineers might do and come up with. This is not a good option as they have not been able to even figure out the problem and hence cannot do anything to solve it without guidance.

Work CitedNelson, Stephen and Daniel DeHayes. IMT Custom Machine Company, Inc.: Selection of an Information Technology Platform, 2010: 116-128.