Information Systems in Business - Essay Example

The business environment in the contemporary society is experiencing turbulent times especially due to the fact that the success or failure of businesses in terms of competition is based on, among other core competencies, technology. Technology is dynamic, meaning that it keeps on changing and this implies that a company has to have the ability to invest heavily on the procurement and the development of new technologies in order to remain relevant and also for the sake of satisfying consumer needs, tastes and fashion, which highly determine the market for individual products (Cassidy 46).

In the past for example, most of the business and offices used to maintain physical files, which required a lot of space and paperwork not withstanding the numerous risks involved such as theft and misplacement of files, destruction by environmental factors such as water, fire, and dust among others. The process of accessing the files was also tedious and it consumed a lot of time especially in departments such as accounting, government registries, and the banking sector. In a matter of time, these filing systems have become obsolete after the invention and accessibility of information technologies such as networking and spreadsheets among other applications, which have resulted to the availability of services such as the Automated Teller Machines, electronic money transfer, mobile banking and cloud computing among others (Peppard 39).

For these reasons, it is imperative for businesses to have an effective strategic systems planning (SSP), which helps entrepreneurs and businessmen to identify the current and future trends in information systems and make recommendations on the best approach to tackle and anticipate technological shifts (Peppard 28). One of the advantages of SSP is that it enables a business to introduce change as where and when it is required instead of waiting until other competitors have upgraded their systems under which circumstance customers may be compelled to invest or buy products from the competitor.

In this context, with an effective SSP, the business is able to maintain its customers and if the changes are implemented fast, the business stands the chance to gain more customers. This is more so because SSP also involves customers, who are represented by a customer representative in the project planning team and therefore, it is guaranteed that the final product is acceptable to them and is also feasible to the business (Peppard 53). Strategic system planning is also essential in that it enables the management to determine the amount of money to be allocated to the development and improvement of information systems.

This is due to the fact that a business must be able to finance any new developments and if not so, the management must ensure that a budget for the new investment is put into place as long as there is a chance for a return on investment. In this context, a business would be capable of venturing into new opportunities through innovation, after establishing the needs of the consumers through data collection methods such as interviews and questionnaires, which is an important component of SSP. Without a strategic plan, then, it would be difficult for the management to know what is required and what systems require to be upgraded.

Time is a luxury that any manager cannot afford and when it comes to information systems, long gone are the times when a project lifecycle could take long periods and stages to complete (Cassidy 81). BibliographyCassidy, Anita. A Practical Guide to Information Systems Strategic Planning. CRC Press, 2001Peppard, Joe. Strategic Planning for Information Systems. Wiley, 2002