Commercial and Organizational Activities
The biggest service provider in New Zealand is Spark New Zealand that provides communication solutions such as mobile network, telephone services and other internet services. The organization was founded in the year 1987 on 1st April after dividing the New Zealand post office; therefore it has been privatized in the year 1990. The head quarter of the company is at Auckland. Spark provides several commercial activities such as ICT solutions for the business, provides services such as broadband services and mobile network services.
The business processes are the collection of the jobs which are done for meeting and achieving the objectives and goal of the organization. The jobs include:
The mission of Spark is giving potential, life, creativity and energy to the residents of New Zealand and the vision of Spark is unleashing the diversity and potential on each corner of the country focusing on the vicinities that are mostly cared by the consumers. The organization has been till now successful to deliver the vision and mission statement as the supports and services provided by the organization has been exceptional. It should also be noted that the organization is famous in coming up with innovative and new technologies that reflect that the organization is following their vision and mission statements in a right way.
In terms of information system and IT, Spark has been renowned of being well organized. They utilize the transaction processing system for their production, marketing, designing and delivering of the final products. The ERP system is utilized for supporting the value chain. In addition to that they also utilize a system for managing their customer relationships that help them to maintain a sustainable relationship with their consumers in sales, marketing and other services. Spark also uses a system for transaction processing for supporting the e-commerce activities such as shopping and other transactions. The professional support system is also used for supporting the specialized jobs such as testing, designing and the development of the new technologies. The organization also has a developed security system for protecting the internal systems and ensuring the privacy and integrity of the client information.
Proposed Information System
The information system plays a major role for deciding the organizational future. The information system should also be aligned with the specific business requirements of the company. The development of the IT policies is the most significant job of the company and implementing the policies in a proper way can lead the organization to an enormous success. There are several businesses that tend to face a huge loss and close down due to the implementation of poor IT policies. The organization requires being focused and crucial in choosing their information system as they require analyzing the risks that are associated with the entire system and the requirement of the consumers should be kept in mind as well. For the telecommunication companies it is very much necessary to keep the customer services at the top of their priority list, also because Spark has been a renowned company for providing best services to their clients. The information system of the organization should be updated and improved in accordance with the requirements of the clients. The future system for the organization is for improving the consumer services along with introducing the work force management system that can be utilized by the management of the organization for predicting the amount of emails, calls and the chat sessions. The managers of the contract center then will be able for scheduling the adequate staff members based on the prediction of the management system of the work force. Along with that the system also helps the regulation of automatic tasks of the managers in determining the representative numbers that are to be hired for the customer call handling. The system also tend to provide the solutions for the scheduling, further training, attendance and time, it will also be able to provide the notifications of the tasks which will be overdue or will require adequate attention of the managers. The managers of the contact centers also do not need much training regarding the information system as it is convenient for usage, also the features that are provided are very much hand in using. Therefore it will be easier for introducing in the entire system. The Spark also can analyze the future system and the benefits that can be integrated in the business. The client servicing can also be improved by using the management system of the work force in the contact center, therefore the satisfaction of the clients will further lead the organization in enhancing the yearly revenue of the organization.
The Spark Telecommunication is now utilizing the servicing application for the client relation management that is very much useful for providing response to the clients while having the best knowledge of the relationship and the values of the company. The client care representatives presently use the CRM for documenting the consumer problems and their enquiries, therefore the potential steps can be taken for addressing those queries. It also tend to create the communication records that have been taken place between the agents and the clients, therefore it can be utilized in resolving any other future queries. The organization also utilizes the voice response systems that are the tools for self servicing; therefore it helps the automatic incoming call handling. The system also allows the uses in interacting with the machines in the best way. Until now the call used to reach the consumer services while they did not any clue regarding the query of the consumers, however now they have the idea about the queries and can provide the solutions in a easy manner. The IVR system have also improved the service quality if the automatic system that is accessible for chatting with the consumers so that they feel engaged with the organization, The future system can also be aligned with the present system, therefore can develop the system working and make it more efficient as the previous system was unable to predict the call amounts. If the work force management system is included within the present system the whole system can be responsible for solving the problems while there is a call rush. Spark can also derive massive benefits while aligning the entire system together and provide a far better customer service for also improving the reputation of the company along with increasing the potential revenue for the company. The alignment of the present and the previous system can be implemented in the company strategy, thus it can be helpful in achieving the objective and goal of the company.
One of the proposed alternatives of the information technology system is, the sharing of network with the other telecommunication companies. There can be several levels for network sharing with the other companies. The sharing of the networks can be done using the shared towers and common sites, Spark can share their own network with other companies, therefore it will be a cost effective way for doing the business. It will also be very much effective for providing the network to the clients without any kind of congestion in the network. In addition to that it can be done without any risk as it will be shared by both the companies. Spark can also invest lesser amount for gaining a huge benefit from the entire system. It will also permit the company in taking advantages of covering a vast network area and expand their 4G internet service and network at a minimum cost. It will also be helpful in increasing the market position and the business of the company.
There can be various reasons that will indicate in selecting the proposed system over any other alternative system, such as:
The service level agreement is the authorized contract between the customers and the service provide regarding the usage of the any other external and internal documents by the company. The company should review the SLA periodically and update the changes. The measures that can be taken for SLA are:
The consumers receive support on a regular basis during the business hours.
Business Hours: Monday-Friday, 8A.M. to 17.30P.M.
The clients can call the service centers anytime they would want.
The supports in the stores are not expected during the public holidays and on the weekends.
The service of telecommunication will be available 99% of the time round the year leaving out the upgrading and the maintenance times. It will take place thrice in a year.
The guaranteed services will break not more than five times within a year. It can occur because of any inevitable reasons.
The high quality services can be provided for all the services and reported to the action center of Spark.
The personal information and data integrity of each of the customers should be protected and should be kept confidentially.
If there is any change that the client makes, that can be suggested to the organization, therefore the retrieval team can change it. The company can give a denial or acceptance notice to the client within three or four working days. If there is any emergency change that can be reported to the manager of IT.
The below table shows the service level which is provided by Spark for the mobile network services:
|
Service Attribute |
Attribute meaning |
Service Target |
|
Reception of Service |
Calls from clients should be answered and information should be provided related to the fault. |
Incoming calls are to be answered 7 days a week and 24 hours a day within 20 second. |
|
Regular Service Hours |
The hours for registering the faults. Charges can be applied. |
24 hours per day,7 days per week |
|
Update for progress |
Updating the service restoration activities |
major event basis |
|
Service Restoration Target |
Elapsed time during normal service hours between reporting of fault by customer and confirmation that service has been restored to customer |
6 hours |
|
Billing Issue Resolution Target |
The elapsed time between customer enquiring bill and confirmation of its resolution. |
Single account 2 days |
The below table indicates the service level which Spark provides in accordance with data network services:
|
Service Attribute |
Attribute meaning |
Service Target |
|
Service Reception |
Telephone from customer should be answered and providing information related to fault. |
Incoming calls should be answered 24 hours a day and 7 days a week within 20 second. Billing and provisioning: Incoming calls should be answered on business days between 8:00 to 17:30 |
|
Normal Service Hours |
Hours during which customer can register their faults. No additional cost. |
24 hours per day,7 days per week |
|
Progress Update |
Update provided on service restoration activity |
Significant event basis |
|
Service Restoration Target |
Elapsed time during normal service hours between reporting of fault by customer and confirmation that service has been restored to customer |
6 hours |
|
Billing Issue Resolution Target |
The elapsed time between customer enquiring bill and confirmation of its resolution. |
Single account 2 days |
In context of the internet access services, the concerned organization that is Spark they provide following services:
|
Service Attribute |
Attribute meaning |
Service Target |
|
Usual Service Hours |
The target hours are when the customer register their complaints and in some cases call-out charge may also applicable |
24X7 internet access service |
|
Service Restoration Target |
The concerned services is considered as the hours between the registration of the complaints and the confirmation provided by the services provider that the complaints has been restored |
6-8 hours in Major metropolitan areas |
|
Service Reception |
The telephone from the customers is answered properly and relevant solution is provided to them. |
The target is to receive the service call within 20 seconds |
|
Planned Outage Notification Target |
The time that is given to the customers for the maintenance of the internet network. This time is usually calculated as the elapsed time between the customer’s mail and commencement of services |
2-3 days |
|
Planned Outage Target |
This is the time when the internet services is temporarily unavailable for upgradation and development |
The time may vary between 12 hours in 3 months period and 6 hours in one week |
|
Upgradation of the process |
Activity related to service restoration for future development |
Hourly basis |
The following services are provided to the customers by Sparks:
Some of the services that are not included in the mail service of Spark are given below:
Stakeholders are those person who are associated with the business its impact affects them directly. In this case, the internal stakeholders are employees of Spark Telecommunication and the external stakeholders are the customers, who are availing their services. The IT managers of the Spark Telecommunication are also the internal stakeholders, who are liable for solving the issue face by customers.
Risk management
Risk can be occurred in any project and some strategies to mitigate the risk should also adopt for the better outcome of the implemented information system.
In risk management system, the occurrence of risk can be low, medium and high. Managing authority has to take proper strategies for the identified risk based on their priorities. The categorization of the risk is given below:
The format of the risk register to evaluate the occurred risk is given below that impacted the proposed information system
|
Risk |
Consequence Level |
Likelihood |
Grade |
Consequence |
Action |
|
Earthquake |
4 |
4 |
16 |
All the hardware and software gets affected from earthquake |
Implementation of cloud computing |
|
Security |
6 |
6 |
36 |
Authenticated data are accessed by hackers and degradation of the software due to virus attack. |
Effective antivirus, data encryption tools and firewalls should be implemented |
|
Maintenance |
6 |
6 |
36 |
It took much time and expertise in maintaining the entire system |
Allocation of time and financial resources should be marinated regularly |
|
Upgrading |
6 |
6 |
36 |
The platform of the device may not support the upgraded software and this may result in poor performance of the system |
The system should be upgraded regularly |
|
Lack of training |
2 |
2 |
4 |
Employee may not aware if the recent technology |
Organizing regular training session for the enhancement of the knowledge of the employee |
The importance of risk register can be witnessed through the evaluation of occurrence of the most possible risk its consequences and appropriate action plans that is taken for mitigating the risk. In the above table, the maximum outcome of the risk is 36; while the medium risk shows the value of 16 and the lowest value illustrates the number 4. From the table it is found that in case of security, maintenance and system upgrading shows the maximum risk in the propose information system. Whereas, the issue of natural calamity have the medium risk and risk of lack of employee training is the lowest.
The proposed information system suffers from some ethical issues that can be that are:
Defining the problem
Since the concerned organization that is Spark is not using any call prediction software, during the peak season the managing authorities of the organization does not able to identify the intensity of the call. This results in lack of providing quality call services to their customers. This aspect affects their brand reputation and staffing problem is also faced by the managing authorities of the organization.
Since, this new information system needs new technology to execute, the probability that many employee doe not aware of this new technology is high. Thus, lack of expertise is the initial problem that can be face in this situation.
Regular training to the employee and organizing practice session to the employee should be provided so that they can cope up with the new technology and maintain the system with efficiency.
ROI is known as return on investment that is expressed as a percentage for personal financial decisions. The greater the ROI, the greater is the investment gains compared to the incurred investment. Businesspeople utilized this strategy to assess whether or not the investment they are making is favorable for their business. The formula that is use to measure the ROI is given below:
ROI=Net profit of investment/Cost of investment
Investment’s Net profit =$600,000
Cost of investment =$150,000
ROI = $600,000/$15,000 = 40%
The results shows that the incurred ROI is high and thus the investment will be beneficial for the business of proposed information system is implemented. Thus, it can be said that Spark should invest in this project.
Metrics used for evaluating the business performance- Total Cost of Ownership
The concept of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) represents a situation where owners and buyers determine the cost of a certain system and products. In this context, TCO determines the analyzing ability of an organization to invest the total amount of cost that is required for implementing the new proposed information system. However, the planning needs consideration in various aspects:
Cost of Software application development =$85,000
Cost of training =$10,000
Cost of system upgrading =$20,000
Cost of system maintenance =$20,000
Cost of software implementation=$10,000
Cost of system security=$5000
TCO= Software application development cost + Training Costs + Cost of system upgrading + Cost of system maintenance + Cost of software implementation + Cost of system security
TCO = $85000 + $10000 + $20000 + $20000 + $10000 + $5000
TCO = $150,000
Thus, $150,000 amount of money is decided to invest for the new system.
In this case, the protection of the IS from any damage is considered so that asset can be used for long time. Thus the two- types of assets that are being protected from theft, damage and viruses are- tangible and intangible asset. In context of this scenario, the tangible assets are hardware device like computers, hard disk, CPU, workstations, fax and photocopy machine; while, intangible asset consists of operating system, network, software application and licenses.
Spark can protect their system through asset inventory that allow the organization to:
The designation and roles of the IT team members are listed below
|
S.No. |
IT ROLES |
RESPOSIBILITIES |
|
1. |
System Analyst |
Ø They analysis business problem Ø Determination of implementation time and cost Ø Formulating IS solutions Ø Business requirement investigation |
|
2. |
Software Engineer |
Ø Client and IT manager Interaction Ø Program system level software formulation Ø Providing solution to technical problem Ø Knowledge regarding the software and hardware functions |
|
3. |
Technical Support |
Ø System Maintenance Ø Client Interaction Ø Troubleshooting solutions |
|
4. |
Technical Consultant |
Ø Filtering specification with client Ø Technical consultation solutions |
|
5. |
Web Developer |
Ø server side, client side and database design Ø maintaining spark website |
|
6. |
Network Engineer |
Ø LAN and WAN administration Ø Monitoring system upgradation Ø Maintaining data storage and network security |
|
7. |
Software Tester |
Ø Identification of bugs in the software Ø Debugging the software Ø Test script preparation |
|
8. |
IT Manager |
Ø IT Planning and evaluation Ø IT staff handling Ø Monitoring the annual budget Ø Policies implementation |
|
9. |
Business Analyst |
Ø Opportunity determination Ø Project development Ø Formulation of technical solutions |
|
Date |
Training Required |
Duration |
|
21 July 2017 |
Technical Training |
6 hours |
|
17 August 2017 |
Quality Training |
5.5 hours |
|
24 September 2017 |
Management Training |
6 hours |
|
19 October 2017 |
Technical Training |
6 hours |
|
12 November 2017 |
Problem session |
6 hours |
|
20 December 2017 |
Systems issue Training |
6 hours |
|
13 January 2018 |
System Demo Training |
5.5 hours |
|
12 February 2018 |
Technical Training |
6 hours |
|
14 March 2018 |
System Upgradation support |
6 hours |
|
13 April 2018 |
Quality Assurance Training |
6 hours |
|
30 May 2018 |
Security Issue Training |
5 hours |
|
20 June 2018 |
System Analysis Training |
5.5 hours |
References
IT Job Roles and Responsibilities Explained. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://targetpostgrad.com/subjects/computer-science-and-it/it-job-roles-and-responsibilities-explained
Service Levels. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.spark.co.nz/help/other/terms/policies/servicelevels/
Spark Mobile Postpaid Agreement. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.spark.co.nz/help/other/terms/personal-terms/sparkpostpaidagreement/#ouragreemen
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