IT in business
Technology has been known to act as a disruptive force where organisations that have failed to adopt it have seen substantial losses to some even going out of business. In fact, all the prosperous businesses seen today have heavily invested in information technology as it not only acts as a supportive initiative but also helps meet the market demands. If one assess the operations of businesses and organisations as a whole, the dependence of IT is seen, from generic operations such as accounting and financing to specialised procedures such as telecommunication services (Afzal-Butt, 2015). In all, a vital component of IT is seen to support services by boosting the overall system performance. Now, this paper assesses the importance and impact of IT in business. This assessment is also done in collaboration with an evaluation of the telecommunication industry where Telstra, Australia’s leading telecommunication company is considered.
As a telecommunication company, Telstra serve millions of customers across the region having a wide range of services in the telecommunication and broadcast industry. Services such as internet connection and mobile communication are offered by the organisation which outlines its need for IT as these services primarily depend on ICT systems. Therefore its business opportunities are inclined to technological systems where other organisations and individual companies depend on it to offer access to information, the root cause of IT. Moreover, its business activities are facilitated by IT systems, from networking infrastructure to the communication protocols used to deliver services to customers (Telstra, 2017).
Furthermore, the internal activities are also coordinated by information systems (IS), a sub-element of IT where application or software packages are used to manage operations in order to optimise the available resources. In addition to this, these systems (IS) also facilitate the relationship with the company’s suppliers and customers by streamlining their activities. In the end, Telstra operations are monitored, managed and evaluated using IS that operate via the underlying IT infrastructure (Sheahan, 2017).
Despite the tribulations over the years, Telstra has managed to be the leading telecommunication company in the Oceanic region. At first, the company adopted good business objectives led by optimal operational models in order to meet the needs of the market. Furthermore, at the start, there were few organisations who could offer the same services they provided. However, modern times have changed this outlook with stiff competition coming from the company’s rivals. To beat the competition and to attract more customers while retaining the old ones, the company has had to optimise its services (Telstra, 2017.
For instance, its relation with customers is facilitated by an elaborate CRM (customer relationship management) system that assesses their needs and tailors the company’s service to their demands. Moreover, the internal operations are optimised by IS (information systems) particularly the ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems that manage the internal activities minimising the operational costs. In all, the company has used IT to lower operation costs while maximising the rate of service delivery. This outcome has led to its survival in the market environment where it’s still a leading service provider (Kramer, Jenkins & Katz, 2007).
Telstra need for IT
IT management, a discipline of an organisation that assess its need and maintenance for IT resources is used to outline the requirements for applying technology into business. For Telstra, this process always starts with strategic planning driven by the desired outcomes. This plan highlights the demands, for instance, serving a million customers with the broadband connection. This demand helps the organisation evaluate the optimal resources needed, for instance, the number of masts and modems (Gocardless guides, 2017). Similarly, the same process is used when developing IT solutions for internal business.
In both scenarios, strategic evaluations of the returns of the proposed solution must out way the investment. Furthermore, applying IT in business is actually an enactment of new technologies into an organisation’s operational infrastructure where new equipment, their installation and training is done. These resources will vary with each requirement and the resources available. Thus, the main requirement for applying IT solutions in business is strategic planning in order to evaluate the costs and other resource requirements (Pilepic & Simunic, 2009).
Two scenarios are considered in this evaluation, the internal and external applications. Internally, the business models highlighted by the company are facilitated by IT, from simple operations such as communication where IP phones and internal mailing services (Email) are used. Moreover, as mentioned earlier, the internal operations are governed by IS that include generic systems such as those of HR, accounting and financing. In addition to this, are the customised systems that deploy the actual telecommunication services to customers e.g. those that monitor user’s cell-phone accounts (CBN, 2017). Externally, real-time systems such as CRM systems manage the customer’s requirements including inquiries and payments. These systems are linked with the internal infrastructure to offer a seamless operation. For instance, payments done by customers be it on mobile-phone plan reflect directly on the customised telecommunication system that restores services automatically. Similar systems engages the suppliers who provide resources such as international gateway connections and the other IT equipment/resources.
IT is supposed to optimise the business models adopted by an organisation where efficiency and convenience are obtained. For Telstra, these benefits have been key to it as they have led to the increases in revenue and services as highlighted below.
- Revenue generation/optimisation– a good example of this is the Wi-Fi hotspot initiative that is set to increase the broadband connections which will increase revenue as a result of the new internet plan offered to the customers. These services would be non-existent without IT (Telstra, 2017).
- Low operational costs– the automation of services done by the ERP and CRM systems lowers its workforce requirement which minimises the overall costs. Moreover, these systems optimise the resources available which manage the company’s expenditures.
- Mobility and flexibility– Telstra services go beyond the traditional telecommunication models through mobile communication. Furthermore, the organisation’s staff can work from any location using their own devices (BYOD) (Kumar, 2014).
First, there are the hardware and software risks which are based on the fact that these resources have a life span. In the ICT community, these IT resources are either classified as damaged or yet to be damaged, either through human error or as a result of the operational time span. Therefore, regardless of the quality of the devices used, IT resources will always fail an outcome that must be anticipated with the necessary redundancy procedures. Secondly, there are the threats faced by real-time systems and connections i.e. cyber threats. While automating an organisation’s services may lead to better outcomes such as operational efficiency, it also places the organisation at the risk of attacks. These attacks are executed using the vulnerabilities of ICT system which also can be caused by human error or advancements in technology (McConnell International, 2000). These attacks threaten the integrity and confidentiality of information used by an organisation.
IT as a survival tactic
Telstra operations and services heavily depend on IT resources and functionalities which outline the importance of managing these systems or components of business. In the existing model, Telstra like any other organisation manages its IT resources through an IT department where both the physical resources (underlying infrastructure) and software systems (applications) are monitored by specialised personnel using the necessary tools (Queensland Government, 2017). However, this management outcome only serves the current resource requirement, therefore, an additional and elaborate system is needed to meet the needs of IT. For one, Telstra can employ a continuous assessment system (CAS) as an overall strategy to meet the maintenance needs of IT resources. This CAS method would continuously evaluate the IT systems to ensure the needs of the organisation are met. Furthermore, it would also help mitigate the threats and risks associated with IT resources, which would maximise the business outputs (Rouse, 2017).
Conclusion
In the past, IT was used to offer complementary services to business, for instance, it was used to enhance communication between employees. However, its application was not a mandatory requirement because the market conditions had minimal requirements. This outcome drastically changed after the boom of the digital medium where a new operational environment was invented. In this new environment, customers could be easily reached and influenced at a minimal resource requirement. Therefore, businesses that were wise to invest in it survived in the market and are still remain operational today. Telstra is one such business where it has continuously reinvented itself to meet the needs of the market. For instance, today its services are customer centred where based on market evaluations, services such as home connections through broadband and Wi-Fi connections have been introduced. In all, it is through information technology that businesses such as Telstra are able to deliver efficient services to consumers which have guaranteed their survival.
References
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Gocardless guides. (2017). Helping large businesses meet new ‘duty to report’ requirements. Retrieved 01 May, 2017, from: https://gocardless.com/guides/posts/improving-payment-times-part-1
Kramer. J. W, Jenkins. B & Katz. R.S. (2007). ‘The Role of the Information and
Communications Technology Sector in expanding Economic Opportunity’. Economic opportunity series. Retrieved 01 May, 2017, from: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/m-rcbg/CSRI/publications/report_22_EO%20ICT%20Final.pdf
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McConnell International. (2000). ‘Cyber Crime . . . and Punishment? Archaic Laws Threaten Global Information’. Cybercrime. Retrieved 01 May, 2017, from: https://www.witsa.org/papers/McConnell-cybercrime.pdf
Pilepic. L & Simunic. M. (2009). ‘Applying information technology to business decision-making in the hotel enterprise’. EL klasifikacija / JEL classification. Retrieved 01 May, 2017, from: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&edata-src=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwij3dHT5dDRAhVMvxQKHZL8D08QFggZMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhrcak.srce.hr%2Ffile%2F74937&usg=AFQjCNHV0cDI6II3T5pUgHEnj_EMRSCiew&sig2=ARDV0R5RmSy3ALe84HQFYA&bvm=bv.144224172,d.d24
Queensland Government. (2017). What is an information technology risk? Business Queensland. Retrieved 01 May, 2017, from: https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/protecting-business/risk-management/it-risk-management/defined
Rouse. M. (2017). Business process monitoring, Tech target, Retrieved 01 May, 2017, from: https://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/business-process-monitoring
Sheahan. K. (2017). What Are the Advantages of Information Technology in Business? Small business. Retrieved 01 May, 2017, from: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-information-technology-business-774.html
Telstra. (2017). Broadband bundles. Official website. Retrieved 01 May, 2017, from: https://www.telstra.com.au/broadband
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