Competing with Information Technology Essay Example for Free

Competing with Information technology EssayChapter 2 introduces thoroughgoing concepts of competitive avail through study technology and illustrates major strategic applications of information systems. Information Technology (IT) professionals must understand how to use IT systems and technology to deliver a competitive advantage to the organization. Information systems and technology should provide much than a cost savings benefit to organizations. Today, IT solutions atomic number 18 expected to provide the representation to surpass a competitors performance. As discussed in Chapter 1, the role of IT professionals is changing. Currently, there is an evolving term, line of products technology, which is apply to describe the emerging role in IT. IT professionals be becoming more and more integrated with the cable operations of an organizations.The Real World Case Study 4, IT Leaders Reinventing IT as a Strategic fear Partner, describes how one organization is reorg anizing to better utilize IT to increase business benefits and contri savee to a competitive advantage. It is all-important(a) for an IT organization to utilize IT to reduce the cost of running the business, elicit the business, or develop new-made operate to change the business. To military commit an organization to better provide its products and services, an understanding of the competitive forces is needed. Michael Porter identifies five threats that withdraw business strategies ensure that an organization jackpot out-perform other competitors. They are1. Rivalry of competitors within its industry2. terror of new entrants3. Threat posed by substitute products that might capture its grocery share4. The talk terms power of clients5. The bargaining power of suppliersTo counteract these threats, competitive strategies must be developed to address the capability risks an organization may encounter as it strives to maintain its position on the market place. The competitive strategies are1. Cost Leadership Strategy2. Differentiation Strategy3. Innovation Strategy4. Growth Strategies5. Alliance Strategies6. opposite StrategiesThese strategies burn down be used either individually or in a combination to position an organization to better cope for the future. An example of an organization that is utilizing IT to change how it does business and remain economically execut able-bodied in the future is the online clipping Cross Talk. In the 1990s, Cross Talk was printing and mailing the magazine to subscribers. With a decrease in funding, this organization had to develop ways to reduce costs, deliver its services to its subscribers, grow its subscriber base, demonstrate its look on above other on-line content providers, and justify why it should non be eliminated.Cross Talk is now available at its new website in either an online digital flipbook format or PDF versionCrossTalk is now completely electronic. This change reduces their carbon footprint and allows them to experience the journal to their readers in their preferred and most convenient format. This is also CrossTalks first step towards reaching new reader devices and enhancing the suitability of the journal for our increasing electronic readership.Customer ValueCustomer value has commence a driving force in the world economy. A key success factor for many an(prenominal) an(prenominal) organizations is developing customer value by increasing customer loyalty, anticipate their future needs, respond to customer concerns, and provide top-quality customer service. One example is Southwest Airlines. Not only have they automatise ticket sales via the Internet, Southwest also sends special posts regarding discounts available at my destination, emails to remind customers that the trip is more or less the corner, text alerts if a flight is delayed, and offers incentives to fly with them. It seems that Southwest Airlines provides a personal assistant to help gift the trave l experience more enjoyable. Think near how some of your best-loved businesses are creating customer value for you.Internet TechnologiesMany organizations use Internet technologies to create a strategy to offer fast, responsive, high-quality products and services made-to-order to a customers individual preferences. Internet technologies make customers the focal point of customer human relationship management (CRM) and other e-business applications. New technologies such as wikis and blogs are also being incorporated as a means to provide deepen customer experience. Such communications enable continual fundamental interaction with customers by creating a cross-functional collaboration with customers in product development, marketing, delivery, service, and technical support. Television is taking advantage of this capability. TV news shows are reading and answering emails and some reality TV shows allow views to vote for their favorite contestant, preferred ending, or favorite com mercial. Using the Internet technologies, business units are better able to mold and offer products and services.Value ChainThe value chain is another concept that helps to identify opportunities for strategic information systems. It views an organization as a series of basic activities that add value to its products and services. In this frame domesticate, activities are organize into primary and support processes. From the business understanding gained by analyzing an organizations value chain, the IT organization can determine where to best apply IT systems and technology. The following value chain graphic provides an example of how and where information technologies can be applied to specific business processes to gain a competitive advantage in the market place.Value chain offered by information technologies.Business ReengineeringOften times, to remain competitive, an organization must contend more than just where and what IT systems and technology solutions should applied. An organization must look at how it actually does business and thusly reengineer its business processes. Business reengineering requires an organization to re-design how it does business by eliminating stove-piped, silo organizations and functions, develop an improved understanding for opportunities for information sharing, and instituting enhanced stewardship regarding an organizations data and business processes.Agile CompaniesThe rate of change is increasing and organizations must be able to rapidly respond to changing market trends. Standardized, long-lived products and services are giving way to globalized, niche markets which offer products that are individualized and short-lived. To become an agile organization, an organization must consider the following strategies. 1. Provide a solution that customers perceive as a solution to an individual problem. This allows the product to be priced based on value rather than cost to produce. 2. Cooperate with customers suppliers, and other companies to quickly bring the product to market. 3. Thrive on change and uncertainty.4. Leverage the individuals and knowledge of the processes. Become entrepreneurial in spirit.Knowledge as a hawkish AdvantageTo remain competitive, organization must become a learning organization. Organizations must be able to capture the knowledge of the organization, learn from this knowledge, and then use it to enhance its offerings. Knowledge Management Systems facilitates an organizations ability to capture and then utilize its knowledge. Understanding and being able to utilize this unstructured pick up is key to developing and maintain a competitive advantage. Information capture includes processes, procedures, patents, reference works, best practices, etcetera This integration of knowledge helps an organization become an innovative and agile provider of high-quality products and customer services, and potentially a more formidable competitor in the market place.Leaders in informati on technology are expected to be not only a technology professional but also a business professional. Many are tasked with finding emerging business opportunities, driving growth, encouraging innovation, and engaging customers. This provides a tremendous opportunity for you to step up and co-create and ultimately shape the future business vision. Collaborating with the business lead not be enoughyou dont just provide the technology but jointly own the success and failure of business initiatives. IT Portfolio Management and GovernanceAn emerging trend is enhanced IT Portfolio Management and Governance as a means to effectively apply IT systems and technology to business needs. According to Richard Spires, DHS CIO, in his blog post entitled Getting Program Governance Right Helps Ensure Success on the federal CIO Council weather vane site Complex IT systems encompass at least a half-dozen stakeholder organizations that must be synchronized, including the strategy organization, the bu siness or tutelage owner of the system, IT, finance, procurement, security, and privacy. Ensuring all key stakeholders are involved in key decisions is an inbred element to assuring genuine alignment.Program Governance Boards provide guidance, decision-making, and oversight of one or more programs. The function of the Program Governance Board is not to usurp the authorities of the Program Manager (PM), but rather to provide a forum by which the PM can bring key issues and tradeoff decisions to an informed, empowered body that has a vested interest in that programs success and views the PM as a trusted advisor and true subject matter specialist. IT organizations must determine where to embellish time, people, and silver in current and new IT systems and services in order to enhance the value of products and services. To do this, many organizations are categorizing offerings into individual portfolios and establishing a strong system structure to guide the selection and investmen t into solutions. opening ArchitectureOrganizations are establishing an Enterprise Architecture (EA) to inform, guide and constrain the investment decisions made by governance boards regarding IT systems. The Federal CIO Council defines EA as Enterprise Architecture is a strategic information asset base, which defines the mission, the information obligatory to perform the mission and the technologies necessary to perform the mission, and the transitional processes for implementing new technologies in response to changing mission needs. An enterprise architecture includes a baseline architecture, target architecture (sometimes referred to an as-is and to-be), and a sequencing plan. An EA identifies which processes and IT systems to standardize and integrate. The benefits of an EA are step-down in IT Costs, improved IT responsiveness, guides the proper selection of IT solutions to ensure the accomplishment strategic business outcomes. The components of an enterprise architecture is described in the figure belowVarious layers of an enterprise architecture. (Source NIST)ConclusionHow does your organization determine how to invest in IT? You might see if one of your organizations senior executives is available for a 30 minute meeting to discuss how the organization determines what technologies to invest in as a corporation. Think about questions to ask. Some examples might be how is an business need identified? How are IT investments justified? Who are your competitors? If you work for an IT consulting firm, you might as how the company decides what contracts it give bid on. It can be said that our use of IT systems and technology is equivalent to when we were using rotary telephones.As you complete your Masters Program at UMUC, remain nimble of emerging trends in the IT industry, how it will be utilized to gain a competitive advantage, and what impact it will have on the skills needed by an IT professional and the organization structure required to take advan tage of the advancements in technology. Trends currently occurring that may be worth watching are cloud computing, software as a service, virtualization, social networks, and mobile computing. It is through developing learning as a life-long habit, remaining mindful of trends in the industry, and understanding the impact that technology has on a companys ability to compete that you, as an individual, will be able to keep your skills current, agile, and competitive.