Software Vendor's Business Model Dynamics Case

This case describes evolution of a small software company through three major phases of its life cycle. During the first phase, the business was founded within a subsidiary of a large multinational information technology (IT) company. In the second phase, the business evolved as a spin-off from the initial organization through a MBO (management buy-out) into an independent software vendor. Finally, in the third phase, the business has established itself as a vertically-focused business unit within a publicly-quoted company operating in software and consulting businesses. These three phases are termed introduction, growth and maturity as defined by Cravens (1987, 376).1 The company described in this case, called TradeSys, Inc. (pseudonym), develops and sells software for trade unions and unemployment fund organizations. The business model of TradeSys, Inc. (later TradeSys) has evolved through a typical life cycle of product-oriented software companies in Finland. First, it was comprised of business information systems consultation and a proposition of systems solution to a few major customer organizations. This led to customer-initiated product development. Consequently, the deliverable of the very first project was developed as a solution to the needs of a single customer, which was later worked into a universal software product along with several customer projects. During all three major phases, the company had to rethink its business model and value propositions. At each stage, the ownership of the business has also changed. This case highlights the challenges of a business in the three major turning points in its life cycle and the major changes in the business model accordingly.

Enterprise Information Portals

The focus of this case study is a successful regional law firm (an information intensive enterprise) that integrates information technology to improve the timeliness and quality of their work product. The firm uses information technology as an efficient and productive tool allowing them more time to understand their clients’ needs and envision where their businesses will be tomorrow. Their information services professionals evaluate new technologies with an eye toward improving delivery of legal services: the goal is to build an atmosphere where complex business is handled with ease. In this case we explore the issues related to the implementation of an enterprise portal. The issues are both technological and behavioral.

Technological Modernization of Peru's Public Registries

This study describes the strategy and information technology adopted by Peru’s National Superintendent of Public Registries (SUNARP) to meet its organizational goals. SUNARP was created in 1994 to become the ruling entity of all public registry offices in Peru, which to that time had been working in an isolated fashion. The case describes the projects already completed, their respective success and their deployment across the organization’s bureaus across the nation. The Registry Information System (SIR, in Spanish) and the consequent online registry publicity service are worthy of noting. It takes account of the fact that many of these projects were originally initiated in the largest Registry Zone, the former Lima and Callao Registry Office. Moreover, the paper mentions the future challenges faced by SUNARP in its efforts to provide online registration services.

Changing the Old Order

This chapter describes the transformation of the motor vehicle registration and driver licensing business of the Roads and Traffic Authority of the Australian state of New South Wales. At the heart of this transformation which took place between 1989 and 1992 is a system called DRIVES. The project was innovative in the technology platform it devised and in the CASE technology it used to build the application. The new system has paid for itself at the same time as transforming the Roads and Traffic Authority’s way of doing the business. In addition it has generated new strategic opportunities. The iterating sequence of steps, or looped path, by which the Roads and Traffic Authority achieved its organizational transformation is compared with the more traditional top-down path. The looped path helps prepare the organization for the information technology change, makes risk more manageable by reducing the dependence between steps in the path, and leads to strategic benefits after the organizational changes have been mastered. Thus, we say that the particular order in which change was undertaken led to the new organizational order.

ERP Implementation for Production Planning at EA Cakes Ltd.

This case details the implementation of the Systems Applications & Products (SAP) Production Planning module at EA Cakes Ltd. The market forced the company to change its sales and production strategy from “make-to-order” to “make-to-stock.”

Designing and Implementing a Learning Organization-Oriented InformationTechnology Planning and Management Process

Higher education is changing. Driven by the need to increase productivity, quality, and access while meeting the challenges of competition, universities, especially state-assisted institutions, are seeking ways to do more with less governmental support. Information technology (IT) is perhaps the enabling tool that will bring transformative change (Oblinger & Rush, 1997). The organizations that have had primary managerial responsibility for IT implementation on many campuses need to change and be restructured if the technology is to live up to its potential. This case study provides an overview of the process utilized in implementing a broad-based strategy to address the information technology needs of a large public university, the University of Memphis. It deals at length with the planning and creation of an IT governance structure and a strategic planning and management model. In this case, modern theories of organizational change and strategic planning were applied to the creation and improvement of the University’s IT structure.

Big-Bang ERP Implementation at a Global Company

Dead Sea Works is an international multi-firm producer of Potash and other chemicals whose sales for 1998 were about $500 million. In 1996, the Information Systems group convinced top management to pursue a big-bang ERP implementation of SAP R/3. To reduce project risk, risk management was practiced. First, only modules that matched the functionality of the then-existing systems were targeted, avoiding as much as possible software modifications and process reengineering. Second, a steering committee was set up to handle conflict resolution and set priorities throughout the project and top users were given responsibility with implementing modules within the irrespective functions. R/3 went into production on July 1, 1998, six months ahead of schedule and without exceeding the $4.95 million budget.

Implementation of Information Technology in a Job Shop Manufacturing Company

ABC Engineering is a Melbourne-based job shop manufacturing company. The company attempted a major improvement in the information technology area by implementing and enhancing the capability of a MIS software package called ‘ManuSoft’. The general manager of ABC Engineering felt that the implementation of this commercially available package would enhance the productivity and help managers in the planning process. The company carried out a detailed study on various IT tools and information systems softwares that are applicable to the job shop manufacturing situation. Considering the prevailing company situations, it was decided that ‘ManuSoft’ would satisfy the information requirements. A project team was set up to study the scope of IT improvements and implement the required IT/IS system.

Adoption and Implementation of IT in Developing Nations

This case describes challenges in the adoption and implementation of IT in two public sector enterprises in the postal and distribution businesses respectively, in India. In spite of similarities in the scale of operations and the general cultural contexts, the IT adoption processes and outcomes of the two organizations were significantly different. While one failed to implement IT in its crucial processes, the other responded effectively to changes in external conditions by developing and using IT applications for critical functions. The case illustrates how differences in organizational factors such as top management commitment, unions, middle management participation, capabilities of IS professionals and specific aspects of organization culture resulted in such differences. The case is interesting and significant because it is representative of experiences of many government-aided organizations in India, which have undertaken IT modernization as a response to external changes and government mandates. The findings can also be generalized across similar organizations in other developing countries.

Enterprise-Wide Strategic Information Systems Planning for Shanghai Bell Corporation

In response to increasing competition and technological advancement, Shanghai BellCo., Ltd., a leading telecommunications enterprise located in Shanghai, China, carried out a major initiative to develop its next generation information technology/information systems (IT/IS) strategic plan. The initiative was prompted by limitations of its current enterprise application systems where the systems were neither able to keep up with the evolving needs due to organizational change nor satisfy the increasing demands for information sharing and data analysis. This case describes the environmental and organizational context of Shanghai Bell Corporation, and the problems and challenges it encountered in developing an enterprise-wide strategic IT/IS plan. The issues covered include alignment of IT strategy with evolving business needs, application of a methodology to develop the strategic IT/IS plan, and evaluation of strategic planning project success.