iPad for Success

Dear Joe,

 

I did the research into iPad vs. Laptop as you requested. 

Here are the functional requirements I believe are necessary after interviewing all parties involved (IT, Finance & Sales).

·         Set a plan—Calendar use

·         Battery Life-Need long life and ability to access power plug

·         Quick Access to presentations

·         Security (access files behind the firewall)

·         Call doctors—make appointments on the fly

·         Access to MS docs-View & Edit

·         Create notes—quick access to jot down notes

·         Portability-light and easily moved

·         Price—with 2,500 users, price needs to be comparable if not cheaper then laptops

With all of the requirements met it seems like a wise move to continue with the iPad transition project.

We will save money on the hardware and software will creating a more agile sales team who can be more efficient. 

Total cost for a maintenanced laptop is $1,200 (according to IT manager) while a 32GB 4G LTE iPad with needed applications will cost $750. 

 

Thanks

 

Rajae

Accenture Case Study

 

The Problem

 

As Accenture began the total overhaul of their IT systems they realized two things.

 

·         First, the complete overhaul they chose for a complete transformation of the IT infrastructure turned out to be very effective. Very few organizations could complete such a massive task so quickly. As an organization that  consults clients on simplifying processes and technology whenever possible, while maintaining state-of-the-art technology this decision showed clients that Accenture believed in what they sold to its clients.

·         Secondly, Accenture was strongly considering another upgrade to enhance its business intelligence (BI) as well as a total management of their ERP system. The framework software that Accenture was considering for the upgrade was COBIT 5. Even with its current IT system Accenture had to consider its financial reporting systems among many regulations globally. Besides regulations COBIT 5 could possibly enhance Accenture's IT systems’ ability to communicate causing greater integration and sound business decisions.

 

The IT overhaul of the IT system focused in on four key areas:

 

·         Redefining IT at Accenture from a cost center to a profit center

·         Reducing IT cost by the implementation of a web-enabled technology solution

·         Greater IT governance and oversight based on key strategic business objectives

·         A single-vendor/platform approach to software eliminating the need for multiple suppliers

 

Solutions

 

Accenture is ultimately considering two solutions:

 

·         Continue with the current IT framework

o   Would ensure that Accenture would be maintaining the system that made them so successful from 2001 to today

o   Decreased IT spending by 58% (60% decrease of IT spend/employee) while nearly doubling revenues at the same time.

o   Local applications had been cut by 87% from the levels they were in 2001 before the upgrade while also maintaining high levels of satisfaction among employees internally and earning praise from external stakeholders.

o   The ability to continue the use of a decreased number of suppliers and applications needed to conduct business operations

o   Could also continue to lean on their existing value chain and reporting systems that virtually revolve around the clock while ‘following the sun.’

·         Structure or implement COBIT 5 standards.

o   High investment and change in current practices already in place.

o   Many similarities to their current IT model, with several practices that seem to overlap.

o   Could create efficiencies, control, and flexibility in key IT areas

§  Plan & organize

§  Acquire& implement

§  Delivery & support

§  Monitor & evaluate

o   Has proven practices that minimize unwarranted software’s and applications and an overall reduction of IT spending.

o   A main cost is training for employees.

§  Roughly $175/employee for materials

§  Another $1,500 for the two day class.

o   Employee downtime and travel expenses.

o   Time to implement and master the practices learned within the classroom and transfer to every day practices.

 

Recommendation

 

Considering the investment needed along with the risk I believe it is not in the best interest of the organization to implement COBIT 5.

·         Investment could exceed $20 million in costs, training, and loss of productivity

·         Potential backlash from stakeholders who have taken an interest in Accenture’s industry standard IT systems and processes

·         The current model already has in place a number of the best practices and standards--implementing COBIT 5 would duplicate this.

o   The one-vendor and single-platform approach has been in place and has already streamlined processes and reduced costs significantly.

o   COBIT 5 seeks control over IT governance and regulations however Accenture has these areas covered.

§  Project sponsors who see a project through all phases as well as a ROI auditing process

§  Linking IT processes to the objectives of the business through processes such as IT support on a per needs basis through an ‘internal customer’ and their need for the support.

I believe that the upgrade is not warranted at this time as number of the key functions of COBIT 5 has already been in place since the overhaul in 2001. Though COBIT 5 provides insights into continually evolving our IT structure but the implementation is not a practical choice at this time due to the high investment. 

Zara Case Study

Sir,

Our biggest problem is our current IT structure.  Our POS system is using DOS which is outdated and limited in terms of capability. It is a huge risk to continue to use this system since the hardware might not be available to us in the near future.  Both Badas (Head of IT for Inditex) & Ocampo (Tech Lead for our POS system) are concerned our infrastructure is a risk to them since we are their biggest client.

A few examples of how our system is inefficient is the inability of employees to look up their own inventory or other store’s inventories in real time or spending excessive time to complete returns on the small screens on their Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs).  

This problem runs through the entire chain of operations related to Inditex’s Zara fashion stores, from the vendors to the warehouse and distribution centers to the actual store properties. 

Here is the run down the situation. 

·         Due to the nature of our business we need quick turn over on our inventory to satisfy customers with new fashion lines. 

·         We have 500+ stores with many more coming on board (one per day)—all need inventory to be updated in real time

·         Since our POS is very simple no IT support is required for store openings or any malfunctions.

·         We give store managers flexibility in what products to hold in inventory which causes unique orders and higher manufacturing costs

·         Without aggregated inventory data we miss out on potential sales.  A hot item on one region can be moved to the rest—real time inventory tools can help determine this.

Here are some of the decision criteria:

·         Fast, reliable and accurate system

·         Networked solution for real-time tracking

·         Integrated data controls for automation

·         Ability to port the POS system to retrieve data

·         Cost of upgrade and maintenance

·         No disruptions to current operations

·         Plug and play capability to make it easy for new stores to install and maintain.

·         Is time saved even with the additional functions added

Plausible alternatives:

• Current DOS POS system
• Pros
• Low up-front cost
• Employee familiarity with the system
• In-house support, maintenance and custom development
• No down-time necessary to migrate to the new POS solution
• Quick and easy to get new stores up and running
• Cons:
• Business is growing too rapidly for the IT infrastructure to maintain
• Time and costs associated with internal IT team managing the development and maintenance
• Inventory tracking system is completely manual
• DOS no longer supported by Microsoft
• POS terminals lack functionality of newer systems
• Modernize POS system including hardware
• Pros:
• Migrating to a new Operating System (Windows, Linux, Unix) that Microsoft support
• Potential to develop an online sales channel and additional revenue stream
• Additional features and capabilities of the newer system
• Real-time inventory tracking between stores
• Con
• High initial costs, potential for additional costs around customization and support of software, retrofitting the company to meet the new systems requirements
• Learning curve associated with new solution (Hardware and software
• Lack of established infrastructure

My recommendation is to address the minimum business requirements that Salgado and Sanchez identify as critical sustaining operations.  Therefore we need to make the necessary investments at this time to migrate to a more forward looking solution supported by the vendor. The new system should include all of the functionalities that employees expressed interest in, and it should allow for network connectivity and real-time inventory tracking.

Junk Van Reflection

Hi Sir,

I apologize that I won't be able to make the meeting regarding the consultant's presentation on IT system upgrades, I have a situation over at the Minnesota site that needs my immediate attention.  But I thought that I would at least email you my opinion on the matter.

First, I would like to say that they did a wonderful job in presenting us the facts about each of our options and I am very pleased with their analysis and recommendation.  To be quite frank I was thinking that PaaS was our only option but they opened my eyes on the ERP solution.  My first thought of ERP systems is that they are for very big corporations, not small operations like ourselves due to their initial and maintenance costs. PaaS, in my opinion, offers similar but not as good a solution as ERP but for what I thought to be a much cheaper price.

Though I would still like to see the demo before I make a final recommendation it seems that the Sage 50 software will do the trick.    It has meet all of our requirements within a budget affordable to us, it's a slam dunk option.  But it will be prudent upon us to do our due diligence on the software and its capabilities.  There may be a key component that they missed or we missed to inform them about that could make it impossible for us to proceed.

Are there other hidden costs that could come with unexpected events such as lost data from system crashes?

How is the data handled once it is in Quterra and what mechanisms to do we have to allow us to access or move the data when we out grow what Quterra can offer us?

If we decide to make fundamental changes to our business model how will that effect Sage and what mechanisms do we have to adapt if any at all?

I also wanted to contact a former colleague of mine who has some experience with this software, he will have some invaluable insight into the program and its capabilities. 

I hope my fellow colleagues have the same opinion as I do and I will see you next week when I return to HQ. 

Thank you

Rajae El Temawi

Lead IT Strategist

Junk Vans

Junk Van Case Study

Problem/Issue Statement

The problem is that Junk Van needs to find a cost-effective IT system that will minimize information handling errors allowing the company to retain its customers and help row the company.    The new IT system had to fit the business model and be affordable.

 

Some of the symptoms were the unnecessary length of basic administrative tasks like contacting helpers and money collection, mistakes in customer contact information, forgotten e-mails, manual calculations and billing errors, and incorrect versions of the database sent by the data clerk.

 

The scope of the problem involves JUNK VAN’s entire operations. Considering his virtual business model that does not allow for any physical office space, a flawed IT support system negatively impacts all processes and employees. 

 

Situations Assessment

 

The context of the problem is looking at the inefficiencies that are apparent within JUNK VAN’s current virtual business model. Currently, the business runs in a very structured manner with two call center operators, one data clerk, three drivers, and three helpers. The customer’s requests (jobs) came in via phone and from that point information would be inputted into a custom-built MS-Works database. From there, information would be e-mailed to the morning and evening operators and to the drivers. Mr. Kingo wants to maintain this virtual business and eventually move into franchising and growing. Before that can happen, he would like to have a central database and remove the manual process of e-mailing internal information.

 

The decision criteria to consider include the cost of the various alternatives to their current business model with MS-Works, ease of use as his staff and himself do not possess a high level of IT know-how, and adaptable to changes within the industry. Two other criteria that were discussed was having vendor support and being able to implement this change as soon as possible.

 

List Alternatives

o Custom Application

§ Pros:

·  Custom system built for the business including basic functionality

·  Centralized database allows for remote access

§ Cons:

·  Initial build time of 4weeks + cost of $2000, + potential maintenance at $60/hr per developer

·  Potential lack of understanding could lead to higher costs and longer programming times

·  Additional charges for data migration

·  Custom software can’t be tested prior to being developed, so no way to be sure if needs are met

·  Support is “billed by the hour”

o Platform as a Service

§ Pros:

·  Cloud based infrastructure

·  Users can utilize common applications as well as build their own unique applications

·  Third-party hosting of computing platform

·  Easy-to-build forms and connect tables

·  Data migration = 3 days

·  No long term contracts required, ability to scale-up or scale-down anytime (30 days notice)

§ Cons:

·  Kingo doesn’t possess the necessary developer skills to take advantage of PaaS offerings

·  Costs of services package - $500-$600/month

·  Additional customization of system costs $180/hr

·  Ownership and maintenance of development platform

o MS Access

§ Pros:

·  Could be up and running  quickly on small budget, installed locally on multiple computers (no remote access) or on centralized server (allowing remote access)

·  Kingo can manage installations personally and develop new database after work and on weekends

§ Cons:

·  Local installations do not allow for remote access

·  Kingo’s lack of knowledge around shared server implementation would require additional support

·  Multiple user licenses required – unclear how many at this point

·  Costs of hosting shared server, and additional developer support

o Google Docs

§ Pros:

·  Web-based applications that be used to create text docs, spreadsheets, slide presentations and forms

o Quick and easy to create and share with others

·  Users can work on same file simultaneously

·  Possible to set different user profiles for access rights

·  Supports e-mail distribution

·  Free for up to 10 users, low cost for small businesses ($5/user/month, or $50/user/yr)

·  Quick and easy to implement

§ Cons:

·  All data on single spreadsheet cannot be cross-referenced the way it has been in relational databases causing people to see additional information not pertinent to their specific roles

·  No customer support for GoogleDocs

·  Users do not own the tools and resources used to store the companies sensitive client data, what if Google decides to cancel service?

o Enterprise Resource Planning

§ Pros:

·  Built around central database and designed to be remotely accessible

·  Integrate business processes by covering every aspect from purchasing, sales and customer service to finance, HR and e-commerce

·  Designed for small- to mid-sized companies

·  Multiple “out-of-the-box” options available

·   

§ Cons:

·  Very costly solutions and unclear the overall costs 

o Four user licenses = $12K

·  Pre-fabbed Systems Included modules that Kingo is not interested in purchasing

·  Unsure if the ERP system will address specific Kingo’s specific business needs

Recommendation

 

I would recommend that 1-888-JUNK-VAN upgrade from MS-Works to a Platform as a Service in order to solve its current IT system.  Using a Platform as a Service model would allow the company to meet all of Kingo’s needs.  Though this system would require more IT knowledge, Kingo was confident based on the demonstration that he would be able to perform the setup himself.  This alternative is a bit more expensive but its capability in the long run will save the company money since it is customizable which prevents future updates.  Vendor support for PaaS is much better than other options and as the firm expands to other areas this customer support will be very helpful.  The PaaS should minimize errors, mitigate time delays, and allow for the custom needs that the company’s situation demands.