Strategic Direction for Checkpoint Software Technologies Ltd - Research Paper Example

Strategic Direction for Checkpoint Software Technologies Ltd Technology Strategy Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. is a solutions provider geared to promote security of communications over the Internet. The company’s technological advances are commonly a line of comprehensive software and hardware which secure and protect either corporate or personal networks from data leak and infiltration (ChannelWorld Staff, 2009). It has been consistently innovating security solutions, focusing on perimeter security, internal security and Web security (Check Point, 2003a). Deployment Strategy Elements (Schilling, 2005) Timing. Keeping up with new market trends is vital in continuing the operation of a business. To do this, there must be ample resources and production capacity. Licensing and Compatibility. Legal protection of intellectual properties prevent easy ingress to product formulations or techniques, therefore promoting competitive advantage. Pricing. For any new innovation, market skimming could be a reasonable pricing strategy. It is setting prices relatively high to signifying the benefits of innovation. Distribution. The use of authorized intermediaries and partners could be practical in selling a new software. Marketing. The new product launch will signal other important means of promotions (free-trial period, extended services) and publicity (press releases). 2. Core Competencies Check Point is focused on having the most intelligent security solutions for business, and consumers. Check Point feeds on comprehensive market researches that enables the company to produce standardized and usable technologies which are friendly to any target market. That being said means that the company significantly continues to lessen the intricacy of security solutions for simpler network models to the ultimate benefit of the customers. From the same vantage point, another core competency of Check Point is its being a technological leader (Check Point, 2003b). Check Point owns a significant number of patents and intellectual rights to different hardware and software through which such leadership could be validated. Customer satisfaction and the company’s entrepreneurial guts in conquering new markets also add leverage to the same. Having been most famous for it Firewall/VPN products, Check Point can easily mobilize its operations. 3. Industry Dynamics Industry Overview. The IT security industry does not disregard its “booming-then-busting” market attributes. Online security have wrested popular control on how people patronize virtual worlds. Even today, organizations and private people are beginning to understand the impending threats of cyberterrorism and other Internet security threats alike; though it excludes saying that it will take a longer period for people or group of people to finally consider security as instrumental in operational systems. To stabilize online security though, technological innovation is key. Invention and innovation are two elements in its context -- invention being the creative aspect and innovation being the commercial aspect (Bertz, 2003, p. 22). Technological innovation is a complex process which begins from an extensive procedural research to actual application (Libecap & Thursby, 2008, p. 1). Apple’s and Google’s success stories suggest that the customers are now the “shoguns” in the technological industry. Innovation is an integral part to thriving in the market. Innovation is a competitive strength though its application entails equally significant opposite effects. Additionally, the eruption of emerging markets cannot be forestalled alongside the fact that these new markets are not short of resourcefulness. Competitors. Cisco, Fortinet, Juniper are just among the major competitors of Check Point. Unlike Cisco Systems, Check Point doesn’t have compelling product offerings of late. (Cisco is among the 50 Most Innovative Companies in 2010). Check Point protects a name in the IT security industry. However, for probably many years now, the company has not kept up with the market pace causing it to lag behind. Key Customers. Check Point products and services are patronized by enterprises, service providers, SMEs and consumers. Consumer Strategy. Check Point needs to rejuvenate its marketing plans but more importantly, innovates products to satisfy the present customer desires. The rise of the customization feature on the Internet makes every information an open resource. This is exactly the reason Check Point needs to keep innovating. 4. Technology Sourcing and Internal Innovation Any collaboration effort is part of a company’s growth strategy. The following are different forms of collaborations: acquisitions, outsourcing, joint venture or alliance (Khosrow-Pour, 2006, p. 888). Acquisition is to assume control over a target organization through a purchase of stocks or cold cash; joint ventures and alliances are collaborative strategies of two or more firms in effort to execute a specific profitable endeavor; and outsourcing is employing particular goods or services from another company. In line with the proposed consumer strategy, Checkpoint could outsource the services of any product design consultancy firms for both software and hardware products. These firms are well-informed of product marketability in terms of creativity and usability. Creativity and usability are central to a marketable innovation. Acquisitions. Check Point has already acquired SofaWare Technologies, Zone Labs, Protect Data, NFR Security, Nokia Security Appliances, and Liquid Machines. Suggested Strategic Alliance. Check Point may form a strategic alliance with Symantec, a leading global provider of solutions to security, storage, and systems management, focusing on piracy and fraud prevention (Symantec, n.d.). Symantec’s core competencies on enterprise spyware, endpoint threats, and email-borne viruses’ protection will strengthen Check Point’s information management, and in turn adding value to its products. Check Point can promise Symantec with its engineering chops and technology leadership on Internet security. The Check Point and Symantec strategic alliance can maximize each other’s business returns through the combination of their core competencies and exchange of intelligence and talents. 5. Product Development Strategy Recommended Product. This product is a new Internet security suite which does not add up to the personal computer delays in booting, file input and output or anything that decelerate the computer system (Lai & Wren, 2010). Rationale. In line with the objective of having the most intelligent line of software’s to improve Internet security while improving end-user experience, the recommended product is a compelling innovation in a way that it answers the basic of problems with anti-virus or anti-virus suites in personal computers. Not only will this innovation be an opportunity to team up with Symantec, this will importantly make the company write off the weaknesses of outmoded products. Aside from that, the new product will likely increase both companies private user base. Applying NPD Objectives. Maximize product fit. Before this value proposition, the consumers were placed in the center of the value chain, not at the end of the cycle. By doing so, this enables the company to look at the efficiency of their products (highlight strengths and minimize weaknesses) in terms of end-user satisfaction. Minimize time-to-market. Since Check Point and Symantec are technological leaders in Internet Security, the combination of both companies’ talents, intelligence, and engineering advantages induces a liberal NPD cycle time that doesn’t compromise marketability, hence profitability (Cooper & Edgett, 2002, p. 5). Control development cost. Through a compressed time-to-market cycle and putting the customers in the center of the production chain, Check Point could actually minimize development costs (Radhakrishnan & Balasubramanian, 2008, p. 26). NPD Teams. There are four types of teams to which an NPD teams: functional, lightweight, heavyweight, and autonomous (Rainey, 2005, p. 139). Functional teams have total access to resources since they are basically responsible for major processes in product development. In a lightweight team structure, a liaison officer coordinates all functional activities. This kind of team has a limited access to resources and is less influential to the decision-making process. As opposed to lightweight teams, heavyweight teams are composed of influential persons who know the ins and outs of the developing the product. Autonomous structures, as the name suggests, consist of totally independent functional groups, each with an “each-to-its-own” principle. This type of structure often either results to huge successes or the exact opposite. A cross-functional development team with liaisons could be of use in the production of this new software (Bruegge & Dutoit, 2010, p. 85). It is a team which constitutes experts from various departments in an organization or even outside the organization. The cross-functional teams are the documentation team, architecture team, and testing team. As it is, the liaison will play a critical role in the coordination of the different cross-functional teams by communicating relevant updates of the system. 6. Protecting the New Innovation Overview. The four primary mechanisms to protect innovations are trademarks, copyrights, patents, and trade secrets. A trademark is any legally registered mark in forms of symbols, names or such other distinctive attributes limited for the owner’s use and identity. Copyright gives the owner of any original work whether literary, musical, or artistic piece the right to control the production of such works. Patents give the same sale rights to creators as with copyrights only that the former are government-granted rights for any innovation or invention and have shorter validity. Trade secrets are any specific method, technique or formulation reserved to the knowledge of the owner/creator through confidentiality agreements. Patent and Copyright. Obtaining copyrights and patents are the most appropriate mechanisms to protect this new software (Friedman & Taylor, n.d.). A software may be considered a literary work. Copyrights are the best protection a creator can provide his/her work. Copyrights don’t only last long; it also gives the creator the avenue to come up with new variations of the product. A patent is also a way to protect the new innovation because it has a stronger foundation by government acknowledgement. Though unlike a copyright, a patent can only be useful for a shorter period of time (Friedman & Taylor, n.d.). References Betz, F. (2003). Managing technological innovation: Competitive advantage from change. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=KnpGtu-R77UC& printsec=frontcover&hl=en&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f =false Bruegge, B., & Dutoit, A. (2010). Object-oriented software engineering: Using UML, patterns, and Java. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=VYdf2ONuRZIC&pg=PA85&lpg=PA85&dq= cross-functional+team+structure+in+software+engineering&source=bl&ots=-q9By 53MM5&sig=j3_Wd6vDd06Wl2TAqDXc0aHqXWk&hl=en&ei=FsGZTP18zodxxa2A2 gc&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCIQ6AEwAw#v=onepage &q=cross-functional%20team%20structure%20in%20software%20engineering&f=false ChannelWorld Staff. (2005, 15 April). Check Point to launch IP appliances post Nokia security buy. Retrieved from http://www.cio.com/article/489566/Check_Point_to_Launch_IP_Appliances _Post_Nokia_Security_Buy Check Point. (2003a). Check Point performance innovation and leadership recognized with patent for secure XL technology: Company revolutionizes acceleration solutions for Internet security. Retrieved from http://www.checkpoint.com/press/2003/securexl021903.html Check Point. (2003b). Check Point addresses dynamic Internet security challenges with perimeter, Internal & web security strategy: Announces plans to expand best-in-class technology portfolio with new Internal security and web security solutions. Retrieved from http://www.checkpoint.com/press/2003/cpchallenges111903.html Cooper, R., & Edgett, S. (2002). NPD Practices: The dark side of time and time metrics in product innovation. Retrieved from http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:RXJw0JQDE6QJ:www.stage- gate.net/downloads/working_papers/wp_16.pdf+how+to+make+a+compressed+ NPD+cycle+time&hl=en&gl=ph&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgTxeOjDMBD2I1Rwv0KNLF0bTeVr2S7P1AWNKf9F6GMN508b0Cn8S80Lo7uDv6-Ew98KkflVePPCRpNR-rSNdSDs3tCmWkmPk5FtUMH-DL1ilS9Asp1f_mg1X2NbqViQJqaAA0u&sig=AHIEtbTOHe135 OpwZNGuBVpB7TwNYzei5w Friedman, M., & Taylor, L. (n.d.). Basics of intellectual property protection for software under the U.S. law. Retrieved from http://www.shk-dplc.com/cfo/articles/copyrite.htm Khosrow-Pour, M. (2006). Emerging trends and challenges in information technology management. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=ybzS-yylJfAC&printsec=frontcover&hl= en&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false Lai, K., & Wren, D. (2010, January). Anti-virus and Internet security products performance benchmarking: Windows Vista - Dual Core hardware. Retrieved from http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:NXXx7y- Z3CkJ:www.passmark.com/ftp/antivirus_11-performance-testing- ed1.pdf+common+consumer+complaints+abou t+Internet+security+softwares&hl=en&gl=ph&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESg3oV iyk6UBsjnZd9sYKa9zRDrcJiyLGrWXViXTTGrUWZwipL-4cJHLg8_FVD9Na0DCvnEzvaTSHO1xFE31B-BBw9RkWwzXXpaY40MC6mpKhC5dYqNcsntQnajfLUgKrJT 5nczA&sig=AHIEtbT3IB_s1CbyBiFNSSi5p4rkKPl_9w Libecap, G., & Thursby, M. (2008). Technological innovation: generating economic results. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=zHHUr0TzZIcC&printsec= frontcover&dq=technological+innovation&hl=en&ei=XjuYTPWuI43Ccci77K4P&sa =X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f =false Radhakrishnan, R., & Balasubramanian, S. (2008). Business process reengineering: Text and cases. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=6PxqYrRIHcYC&printsec=frontcover&source= gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false Rainey, D. (2005). Product innovation: leading change through integrated product development. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=3Prwx2sWtPsC&printsec=frontcover&hl=en& source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false Schilling, M. (2005). Crafting a deployment strategy. Retrieved from http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:s9TV2XUNIdIJ: www.spsu.edu/mgnt/Yancy/xmgnt4185x/Chap013.ppt+schilling+deployment+ strategy&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ph Symantec. (n.d.). Business overview. 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