As per El-Telbany & Elragal (2014), the present business environment have many complexities which needs aligned information systems so that the goals and objectives of the organisation can be achieved. Business information systems can be understood as the network of information and communication technologies (ICT) which can be used to improve the process and activities of the business. It plays a major role in today’s economy and global business networks. In this report, ZCM, a small firm want to implement cloud computing system. The challenges of its implementation and its importance will be discussed in the report. Recommendations will be provided as to how cloud computing can be implemented successfully in small to medium enterprises.
Information systems are indispensible part of today’s business because it provides several benefits to the business. It brings operational excellence in the business and also improves the efficiency so that higher profits can be achieved. Information systems also help business in developing new products and services. It assists in better decisions making and help managers to use the available resources properly which provide a competitive advantage. It safeguards the important information of the business and fosters the growth and development. It helps in evaluating the dimensions of the business and aligns the value and objectives of the business with the strategies which help the business in meeting its overall goals and objectives (Paul, 2010).
Information systems determines the way of recording, manipulating and analysing the data of the organisation in order to use this analysed data in efficient decision making. In the present global business environment, it is essential to have information systems so that the tough competition in the industry can be met (Lipaj & Davidavi?ien?, 2013).
With the emergence of global economy and digital media, the information systems have become as essential part of the business today. These trends are beneficial for the firm’s growth and also for the growth of economies. The increasing trend of imports and exports among different countries need communication and analytical instruments so that the business could spread the information. Information systems and technologies have become critical part of the business. Information systems have transformed the capabilities of the business enterprises and made them more managed, organised and efficient (Rossi, 2015). The companies are becoming more customers oriented, which again creates a need for information systems. Information systems help the companies in collection and analysis of data so that the companies would provide them their demanded goods and services. Businesses nowadays need information systems like cloud infrastructure or Big data to handle complex situations and make business effective (Miller, Beagrie & Charlesworth, 2014).
Management has to face many challenges while building, operating and maintaining information systems in Small to Medium Enterprises. Some of the key management challenges are:
Cloud services can be understood as the services hired as per the needs of the company for databases storage, applications and for networking. There are many other benefits of cloud. It helps in data analysis and decision making. These services are delivered over the internet now which is cost saving and efficient enough for the companies to meet competition in the industry. Cloud computing can be used for storing, backing up and recovering the data, delivering software on demand an also for analysing the data. It is worldwide famous and widely accepted at global scale. It improves productivity and also the reliability (Microsoft Azure, 2017).
There are different types of cloud services which are divided into three main categories and they are built on top of one another. The businesses should buy the services as per their requirements so that their goals can be accomplished.
The different types of Cloud services which can be used by ZCM are:
Being an IT consultant, I would suggest to ZCM that it should consider its usage and requirements first and then chose the cloud services. The other factors which are to be considered are budget and objectives of the organisation.
It is clear that Cloud computing is like a boon for the business organisations. It made the complex situations so simple and has proved that the organisations have improved a lot after using cloud computing. For small and medium sized organisations, it is not easy to implement cloud services as they have to face many challenges of funds, experience and global environment. IT is suggested that the organisations should do proper need analysis before buying cloud services. It will help them in selecting the appropriate type of cloud services for the company (Kumar & Goudar, 2012).
Successful cloud computing can be implemented when the employees are trained and have expertise. The company should arrange training programs and should also encourage their employees to implement the change without any protest. There are some examples which have successfully implemented Cloud services and progressed in the business. For e.g. Hartford is an IT company which has transformed its business using cloud. By using these services, the company is able to meet the needs of its customers and expects to reduce costs and improvement in the system availability (Posey, 2013)
Another example can be taken of Delhaize, which is a famous operator of food in America. The company uses cloud to analyse the impact of local weather on the store and sales volume. From this analysis, the food retailer has been able to make good decisions on the basis of inventory, promotions or pricing (Allouche, 2013).
Conclusion
It is concluded that Cloud has no doubt become an integral part of the businesses in the present business environment. It is because of its benefits and ease to use. ZCM should first analyse its needs and budgets and then should implement the cloud services. It should also encourage its employees to learn and understand the usage of Cloud computing so that its optimum utilisation can be made and the costs can be recovered. The company should follow the examples and should try to set an example that how after using cloud services; it increases the efficiency and performance of the business.
References
Alenizi, A 2015, ‘Challenges Facing Today’s Information System Development’, LinkedIn.
Allouche, G 2013, ‘7 Well-Known Companies Who Have Moved to the Cloud’, Smart Data Collective.
El-Telbany, O & Elragal, A 2014, ‘Business-information Systems Strategies: A Focus on Misalignment’, Procedia Technology, Vol 16.
Harding, C 2013, ‘Cloud computing for small businesses: it’s time to follow the herd’, The guardian.
Kumar, S & Goudar, R H 2012, ‘Cloud Computing – Research Issues, Challenges, Architecture, Platforms and Applications: A Survey’, International Journal of Future Computer and Communication, Vol. 1, No. 4.
Lipaj, D & Davidavi?ien?, V 2013, ‘Influence of Information Systems on business performance’, Science–Future of Lithuania/Mokslas–Lietuvos Ateitis, 5.1 (2013): 38-45.
Microsoft Azure, 2017, ‘What is Iaas?’, Retrieved from https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/overview/what-is-iaas/.
Miller, P, Beagrie, N, & Charlesworth, A 2014, How Cloud Storage can address the needs of public archives in the UK, The national Archives .
Paul, R J 2010, ‘What an Information System Is, and Why Is It Important to Know This’, Journal of Computing and Information Technology. 95-99.
Posey, B 2013, ‘To cloud or not to cloud: What’s your cloud migration strategy?’, Search Cloud Computing.
Robles, M M 2011, ‘Journal of Research in Business Information Systems’, Association of Business Information Systems, Vol 4 No. 4.
Rossi, B 2015, ‘3 trends that will impact information management systems’, Information age.
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