Question:
• Highlight some success factors or some lessons learned (i.e., what went wrong?) for your examples.
• Discuss the impacts of internal factors (e.g., organisational, individual, and management factors) and external factors (e.g., market, industry, social, economic, technological and political/policy factors) on the success (or the failure) of IS/IT enabled innovation.
Answer:
Introduction
With the establishment of the computers, the world of business was changed forever. By using software and computers, organizations make use of information technology such that all the departments can be managed smoothly. The use of information technology is done by businesses in different departments comprising manufacturing, security, human resource, and finance (Reddick, 2011). With the help of information technology, companies get the capability to see the changes in the worldwide market faster than before. They buy the packages of hardware and software that support them to perform their work. Large companies possess their own department of information technology for maintaining the hardware and software. IT has permitted companies to maintain the balance between supply and demand because customers become more concerned to have their products immediately (Kumar, 2014). The aim of this report is to highlight different examples of innovations under IS/IT and their journey in the industry. Moreover, a discussion will be made about the impact of internal and external factors on the success of IS/IT enabled innovation. In the end, guidelines and recommendations will be provided such that organizations could succeed in their efforts to embark on using IS/IT for innovation.
Examples Of IS/IT Innovations
A management information system is used as a decision-making system and for the control, visualization, coordination, and analysis of information. The learning of management information system scrutinizes technology and people in an organizational setting. It is an electronic database of financial data programmed and organized in such a manner that it creates even reports on processes for each management level in an organization (Sousa and Oz, 2014). It is conceivable to get special reports from MIS very easily. The key motive of the system is to offer feedback to the managers related to the own performance, top executives can monitor the business operations as a whole. Information or data exhibited by the Management Information System naturally reflects “actual” data over “planned” outcomes and past results, thus, it evaluates progress against objectives (Shakiri, 2014).
Oracle is the leading software company in the world. With a range of prominent achievements and their own development, Oracle has made a refined portfolio of the applications of business software, which complement the company’s traditional strength in infrastructure and database systems. The management information system provided by Oracle signifies the electronic automation of numerous diverse types of record-keeping, accounting techniques, counting, and tallying for which by far businesses were using a ledger (Mohammed and Hu, 2015).
Success Factors Of Management Information System
The Management information system offered by Oracle is incorporated into the functions of management. It organizes clear goals such that organizations using MIS can focus on the key business issues. The success factor of the information system provided by Oracle to its clients is focused, determined, and intended in relation to the requirement of the user and its operational feasibility is confirmed. Another factor is that it is continuously kept under investigation, such that the design of its open system is improved as per the altering information needs (Open Learning, 2011). As per the survey conducted in 2011, the MIS offers an advantage of enhanced banking systems because it concentrated on the goals and outcomes, highlights the issues, and causes for non-achievement. The survey was conducted on foreign banks under the name AFB Management Information Systems Surveys. It also resulted in increased demand of the Oracle MIS and till date the company is achieving success in offering software applications to the businesses (The Association of Foreign Banks, 2011).
Decision Support System
A decision support system is one of the known information systems that help companies in the activities of decision-making. This system offers its support to the planning, operations, and management levels of the company and helps employees in taking decisions regarding the issues faced. Decisions support systems can be human-powered or computerized, or a blend of both the features. The DSS of various benefits to the organization such as précised decision-making, enhanced efficiency, and timely problem solving (Sauter, 2014). The planning and operation management levels can use the Decision support system in the company to assemble data and information and to blend it into actionable intelligence. This permits the user to make decisions that are more informed (Bonczek, Holsapple and Whinston, 2014).
IBM is positioned as the largest information technology companies in the world, offering a variety of software, hardware, and services offerings. The IBM Z Decision Support is created with a purpose to support clients in understanding the challenges by gathering raw systems metrics data, combining them and offering tools to support in enhancing cost management, decision-making, operational planning, and responsiveness, and decision-making (IBM, 2018). This system by IBM offers timely reporting throughout the day. It is a communicating software-based system aimed to support the makers of decision accumulates valuable information from a mixture of raw data, booklets, and individual knowledge, to recognize and resolve issues and take effective decisions (Singh, 2011).
Success Factors Of Decision Support System
The IBM Z Decision Support is comprised of informed decision-making procedure, enhanced efficiency for dealing with quickly altering variables and problem solving approaches. This system of IBM involves planning capabilities to meet the user’s needs and ensures that prevailing resources are optimized (IBM, 2018). The system has been successful in the market because it offers convenience to the management by creating different types of reports and reducing the frustration level.
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality is a computer-generated experience that is taking place in a replicated environment. It majorly includes visual and auditory feedback, but may also permit another kind of sensory feedback such as haptic. The immersive setting can be comparable to the real world environment or can be fantastical (Parisi, 2015). Improved reality systems can be measured as a type of Virtual Reality that sheets virtual data over a live camera into a headset or through a tablet or smartphone device providing users the capability to experience three-dimensional images. Virtual reality is becoming a famous section of video games and this trend is expanding day by day. In addition to video games, Virtual Reality expected to influence businesses across the panel as they accept the technology to involve consumers more efficiently and enhance their sales and advertising efforts. It is a possibly valuable device for learning and is progressively being accepted by educational administrations (Sherman and Craig, 2018).
The Oculus Rift is one of the famous virtual reality headset manufactured and maintained by Oculus VR, which is a part of Facebook Inc. Oculus Rift is a specifically intended virtual reality display that uses a system of art display, optics and revives rates to offer a superior level of visual reliability and a wide field of view.
Failure Factors Of Virtual Reality
The business involved in production and manufacturing procedures, Virtual Reality permits all features of a mechanism, process, or part to be replicated and verified. Reliability and Performance can be verified and inspected under any situation, more quickly, safely, and cost-effectively. Moreover, Virtual Reality provides all the businesses chance to reconsider about the way they present and engage with the consumers. For consumer and marketing tools, Virtual Reality offers new possibilities to the businesses for representing services and products. However, the Oculus Rift has been resulted as a failure due to the high competition in the market and the quality it offers to the customers. Moreover, the issues of piracy are affecting the image of Oculus Rift in the market, as it is making easy for the hackers to play exclusive games in the Vive (Shields, 2016). Due to this company is introducing different security updates for the customers in order to cut-off the piracy issue. Besides this, Oculus is repeatedly reviewing its anti-piracy systems.
Internet Of Things
The internet of things is known as the network of home appliances, devices, and vehicles that are comprised of actuators, electronics, connectivity, and software that permit things to connect, interrelate and exchange information or data. Internet of things is comprised of ranging internet connectivity beyond normal devices, like tablets, laptops, desktops, and smartphones, to any sort of traditional dumb. Entrenched with the technology, these types of devices can interconnect over the internet, and can be observed as well as measured. Internet of things is not just changing the way of doing business but also the business models.
Huawei is a platform that offers joint solutions to the industries and creates appealing partnerships in the zones of cloud services like Carrier IT, Finance, Safe and Smart City, IoT, and Video. Together with the partners, the company is supporting its clients to attain business goals and create a better-connected world (Huawei, 2018).
Success Factors Of The Internet Of Things
Internet of things enhance the communication between different devices, formally called M2M (Machine-to-Machine) communication. Due to this, the physical devices are capable to stay connected and henceforth the entire transparency is accessible with lesser inadequacies and superior quality. Huawei’s quintessential solution is grounded on main technologies, which include big data, cloud computing, and IoT to offer open, industrial vertical enabled, secure, and standard, solutions. Through the execution of cohesive and protected network access, huge data collection, flexible device edition, and analysis, it adds considerably to create a new likely revenue source. The company has attained success by offering excellent solutions to the industries. Moreover, for a further growth company is planning to have 22 Open Labs across the globe, comprising eight jointly established with Telco. Huawei is focused towards open partnerships and success for every IoT domain (Xiaodong and Weiqiang, 2018).
Impact Of Internal Factors On The Success Of IS/IT Enabled Innovations
It is worldwide acknowledged that innovation is an essential element to confirm the survival and growth of the business. Innovation permits business to organize it with the alterations in the environment, the demand of the customers, and market situations. The significance of product innovation for the long-term survival of the company is now extensively accepted and has been widely stated in the literature (Tohidi and Jabbari, 2012). Various factors support the innovations and become the reason behind the success of those innovations such as management, organizational, and individual factors. All these factors are part of internal factors. Some of the impact of internal factors on the success of IS/IT enabled innovations are:
Management and Leadership Support – The management of the organization affects the success of innovation by frequently setting the limitations related to what is adequate to create and what is not. Besides this, the management of the organization offer required funding such that innovative products or service can be created and offered in the market with unique features (Incremental Innovation, 2018). The administrative department within the organization is comprised of different skilled and talented personnel who are hired to offer their advice and create innovative services. Knowledge, experience, and support of management help in encouraging innovations. Backing for technological innovation at the decision-making and manager level helps in nurturing a culture where innovation is encouraged, allows some type of risk, and reinforces the complete potential for the success.
Design and Innovate – Innovation means to introduce something new or make changes in the existing services. In Design and Technology, innovations are perceived as changes or enhancements in the manufacturing and design of the product. Innovative originators or designers are involved in the determined search for modification and the generation of opportunities to bring change to enhance the life’s quality (Arthurfil, 2018).
Impact Of External Factors On The Success Of IS/IT Enabled Innovations
Organizations put their maximum efforts in enhancing their performance by identifying innovative ideas and using knowledge in the best possible manner to compete with their rivals and this offers satisfaction to the consumers. There are different external factors that affect the growth of innovations positively or negatively. Some of them are explained below:
Political Factors – Government affects the success of innovation. It performs an important part in the policies and trade agreements. For example, Wind farming works as the renewable energy source has been introduced in Australia because the federal and state governments provision viable living. Similarly, the support of government is very essential for the development or success of any innovation because it provides funding, subsidy, and permission to conduct experiments in the country (Arthurfil, 2018).
Economic Factors – A developing economy is an opportunity for the designers of the new services because customers in these areas are ready to spend their money and try new as well as innovative ideas. Similarly, financially secure buyers expect sophistication as well as quality in their products. Moreover, customers reject the products that will not fulfill their expectations (Zennouche, Zhang and Bo, 2014).
Legal Factors – The Australian government enacts to protect consumers and workers’ rights. Labeling law is introduced to confirm that consumers are well informed about the product or service. The industry should be updated about these laws if they want their services gets successful. The Trade Agreements, the Australian competition and consumer commission, and the Australian Tax Office are examples of government-led influences on the development of the product. The Standards Australia for existing and innovative products sets standards (Australian Consumer Law, 2018). Innovators should ensure that their service or product meets these standards.
Market Strategies – The marketing strategy of the product (comprised of customer demand, product promotion, and market size) can influence the success of an innovation. It becomes very tough to sell the best product if the target audience is unaware of it. In order to become successful in the market, a product should meet the demand of the customer and satisfy them. The marketing strategy describes how a company plan to promote its services (Ferrell and Hartline, 2013). It includes assessing the environment, defining the demand, taking effective decisions about product supply and organizing attainable goals. The components of marketing are mostly explained as product, price, place, and promotion. All these components interrelate with each other in the marketing strategy. In order to be successful, an innovative product should stand out from its rivals. A worthy innovation will be comprised of unique selling points.
Recommendations
The innovative strategy describes the part of innovation and arranges the route for innovation implementation. However, the role of innovation in supporting businesses attain targets of growth are frequently indistinct and the growth of revenue from innovation is inadequate unless coped with great consistency. Therefore, it is very important to consider the points that help in making a good innovation. Some of the keep points need to be considered by the organizations to succeed in their efforts to embark on using IS/IT for innovation is:
An innovation must be truly stimulating and must define a necessary future state for the organization. In order to achieve this, organizations need to aim higher. It has been stated several times in the literature that the innovation must be derived from the business strategy to describe how the company looks at opportunities for development and makes clear selections about the part of innovation, which is completely not wrong. Opportunities and potentials framed in an innovation must essentially offer input and form the complete corporate strategy (Koetzier and Schorling, 2013).
An innovation has to be aspiring in relation to offering the basic to break away from the rivalry, beat the competitors, and make new spaces. The strategies used to push innovation in the market must aim higher and support the business outperforms anyone else in a challenging space.
The procedure for developing the innovation has to be open. Open means carrying the outside in and operating under the conventions that the other billions of people on the planet might have visions that do not exist inside the precise boundaries of the company.
Conclusion
Information technology/information system nowadays is vital in confirming the smooth operations of all the departments in an organization, like the manufacturing department, human resource department, finance department, and in security related drives. Several diverse businesses need specific software-packages for satisfying their functional and operational needs. From the above analysis, it has been identified that every business today is making use of technology in order to provide advanced services and products to the customers. Some of the examples of innovations have been provided in the report that shows the level of advancement within the industry. The above report has reflected various features of different innovations introduced with the use of IT/IS. Besides this, it has been identified that there are various factors that affect the success of IS/IT innovations such as internal and external factors. It has been discussed above the way these factors are affecting the innovations. In the end, the report has provided the recommendations in order to support businesses in success in the efforts they make to embark on utilizing IS/IT for innovation.
References
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