Role of Information Technology in Business Growth and Development: A Case Study of Uber

This report discusses the role of Information Technology (IT) in business growth and development, with a focus on the transport industry and a case study of Uber. It explores the advantages and risks of IT for Uber's transport business, and provides recommendations for maintaining and monitoring IT systems.

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IT Write Up
IT for Business
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9/19/2019

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Executive Summary
This report is aimed at conducting research to identify the role of Information Technology
(IT) in business growth and development in the competitive world. To do so, the research
will find recent news which involves Information Security (IS) breaches and then analyse the
chosen news for producing this report. The business sector chosen for writing this report is
transported. In addition, a well-known transport firm Uber has been chosen for conducting
this research effectively. In this way, this report has discussed risks IT brings to the transport
business of Uber Inc. Moreover, the consequences of IS data breaches have been successfully
discussed in this report. In a nutshell, information technology for business like Uber has been
explained, discussed, explored and analysed well with the help of reliable sources in order to
engage the readers effectively.

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Contents
Executive Summary...................................................................................................................1
IT for Business...........................................................................................................................3
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
IT for Transport Business...........................................................................................................3
Uber need IT..........................................................................................................................3
IT for business survival..........................................................................................................3
Requirements for applying IT into Uber business.................................................................4
How can Uber use IT.............................................................................................................4
The advantages IT bring to transport business of Uber.........................................................5
The risks IT bring to transport business of Uber....................................................................5
How can Uber’s business maintain and monitor IT...............................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................7

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IT for Business
Introduction
This report is aimed at conducting research to identify the role of Information Technology
(IT) in business growth and development in the competitive world. To do so, the research
will find recent news which involves Information Security (IS) breaches and then analyse the
chosen news for producing this report. The business sector chosen for writing this report is
transported. In addition, a well-known transport firm Uber has been chosen for conducting
this research effectively. As mentioned by (Lee, 2017), Uber data breach is famous IS breach
which made global people learn about IT roles for business. Moreover, some key aspects will
be researched in the context of Uber being a ride-sharing transport organization. Apart from
this, the discussion will narrate how Uber uses IT internally for its employees. Besides, IT
use for external peoples like suppliers, customers and many more will be described in detail.
IT for Transport Business
Uber need IT
Based on the IS breach incident in the context of the transport industry, the news is clearly
indicating that modern transport business needs IT at large level. The chosen business as
transport business needs IT because technological innovation needs to be used for making
transport easier for global society (Gatzlaff & McCullough, 2010). If we will talk about the
significance of transport business then it is found that major aim of this business is to save
time, energy and money of the people so that they can use them for their improved well-
being. Moreover, for making transport business of Uber sustainable, the industry needs IT
while using IT for making it is business safe, secure from data breaches in future.
Furthermore, technology makes any business grow effectively, which is clearly depicting that
Uber also hi-tech devices, vehicles, software, and hardware so that company can interact with
as much as possible users efficiently (Bitran, 2016).
IT for business survival
Based on (Elliott, 2015), it is evident that IT is important for business survival as it keeps
business developing as per the world demands. It is well-aware fact that every business is

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finding its key selling points while using technologies like IT, ICT, AR, VR and many more
(Vacca, 2012). In such case, if Uber wants to be successfully and ahead of all of its
competitors then the company have to use IT for exceeding their users’ expectations.
Moreover, transport businesses like Lyft, Curb, Grab, Didichuxing and many more, are
continuously upgrading the quality of their services by using advanced technology via IT
(Taschler, 2015). In this way, in order to survive their business growth worldwide, Uber
needs IT. Thus, Uber should upgrade their devices and other systems with the help of
advanced IT techniques (Schultz, 2009).
Requirements for applying IT into Uber business
Business areas like cost, planning, designing, equipment, installation, and training need to be
upgraded for applying IT into Uber’s business (Laurell & Sandstorm, 2016). There are some
basic requirements for applying IT into any business. As the transport business firm Uber has
been selected in this report, hence this section will talk about the requirements for applying
IT into the chosen business (Liu et al., 2018). For example, Uber needs the following
requirements in the different operational fields:
 Uber may need investment, budget and cost-related resources to apply IT for their
transport business (Gatzlaff & McCullough, 2010).
 Uber may need concrete planning at the initial level as well as the advanced level for
successfully using IT for growing their business
 Uber may need designing their systems more efficiently so as to apply IT into their
business development
 Uber might also need updated and advanced equipment with their installation so that
business people can use IT for their personal and professional growth
 Uber may need training programs and processes in order to train its organizational
people for betterment of business growth (Gollmann, 2010).
How can Uber use IT
Based on (Fortune, 2018), Uber has concealed their data breach from their users, drivers,
employees as well as the world. The possible reasons for IS breach at Uber were:
 Less strong IS strategy (Blystone, 2018).
 Lack of awareness regarding data security and protection from violations
 Lack of data security protocols and protection schemes

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In this way, Uber can use IT for many purposes as follows:
 Everyone knows that Uber is an on-demand car service. Uber allows an individual to
request private drivers with the help of apps for iPhone as well as Android devices. In
this way, Uber must use IT for the service dispatch software in order to send the
nearest drivers to their users’ locations (Bogle, 2018).
 Uber can use IT for removing all possible errors while communicating with their
users and drivers efficiently.
 Uber can design such an application from which one can avail of transport services
immediately and less-expensive whenever they need 24*7 in a week (Australian
Government, 2018).
The advantages IT bring to transport business of Uber
It has been found that IT critically brings so many benefits and advantages to the transport
business of Uber, some of them are as follows:
 IT makes interactions quick, smooth and easier for all
 IT makes services efficient and valuable for the users
 IT helps Uber to create enhanced customer value
 IT helps the company to cut costs (Bitran, 2016).
 IT helps the company in business survival
 IT benefits the company from the total revenue and profit viewpoint.
The risks IT bring to transport business of Uber
As we discussed above, Uber has suffered from IS breach twice recently, which is ultimately
raised so many risks for the company reputation, data corruption, users’ identity theft and
identity fraud along with drivers’ identify fraud as well as theft. In this way, IT also brings
several risks to transport businesses like Uber. Furthermore, it has been found that reliability
and consistency are mostly affected by technology use (Wong , 2017). Thus, reliability of the
Uber services might get reduced or affected with the use of advanced IT and less effective
security schemes. In addition, more risks which IT brings to Uber’s business are as follows:
 There is a risk for Uber while using IT, for example, the Faulty background check
system.
 While using IT for business, Uber usually has no liability as all is done by IT and ICT
based systems.

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 Apart from this, financial risks may occur when technology failed (Picanso, 2010).
How can Uber’s business maintain and monitor IT
There can be a number of ways from which Uber can maintain as well as monitor their IT
systems. For example, after facing so many on-field incidents the transport company has
started using driver monitoring system as a recent digital trend (Elliott, 2015). Apart from
this, Uber can use smartphones for monitoring drivers’ behaviour effectively. It is being
suggested that Uber should use a new technology which can monitor their IT systems. In
addition to that, it has been found that Uber may track its drivers' mobile phones in order to
watch their speed and activities while serving the users. Uber can utilise useful software for
monitoring and maintenance of IT-driven business systems (Khosrowshahi, 2017).
Furthermore, more measures to be used by Uber’s business for maintaining and monitoring
IT systems can be as follows:
 Safety monitoring features in the Uber applications
 Server monitoring systems can be used (African Antitrust, 2016).
 IT infrastructure monitoring and tracking systems can be used
Conclusion
In whole, this research has successfully found an IT role in business all over the world. With
the help of detailed analysis of recent news about IS breaches, the Uber data breach has been
discussed in this paper. In addition to that, role of IT has been identified for various business
sectors in the world. While discussing the different benefits of IT to the chosen business of
Uber, this report has also discussed risks IT brings to the transport business of Uber Inc.
Moreover, the consequences of IS data breaches have been successfully discussed in this
report. In a nutshell, information technology for business like Uber has been explained,
discussed, explored and analysed well with the help of reliable sources in order to engage the
readers effectively.

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References
African Antitrust, 2016. UBER AFRICA: INCREASED COMPETITIVENESS NOT A BOON
FOR ENTRENCHED MONOPOLIES. [Online] Available at:
https://africanantitrust.com/2016/02/03/kenyan-cabbies-complain-the-uber-competition-saga-
reaches-east-africa/.
Australian Government, 2018. Notifiable Data Breaches scheme. [Online] Available at:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy-law/privacy-act/notifiable-data-breaches-scheme [Accessed
16 October 2018].
Bitran, A.D., 2016. The Uber Innovations That Lyfted Our Standards out of Thin Air [BnB],
because Now, There's an App for That. Elon L. Rev., 8, p.503.
Blystone, D., 2018. The Story of Uber. [Online] Available at:
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/111015/story-uber.asp.
Bogle, , 2018. Data breaches: If a company has lost your personal info, they now have to tell
you. [Online] Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-02-22/-companies-
must-inform-consumers-of-data-breaches/9462170 [Accessed 16 October 2018].
Elliott, R.E., 2015. Sharing App or Regulation Hackney: Defining Uber Technologies, Inc. J.
Corp. L., 41, p.727.
Fortune, 2018. Uber Data Breach Exposed Personal Information of 20 Million Users.
[Online] Available at: http://fortune.com/2018/04/12/uber-data-breach-security/ [Accessed 27
May 2019].
Gatzlaff, K. & McCullough, K., 2010. The effect of data breaches on shareholder wealth.
Risk management and Insurance Review, 13(1), pp.61-83.
Gollmann, D., 2010. Computer Security. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Computational
Statistics, 2(5), pp.544-54.
Khosrowshahi, , 2017. 2016 Data Security Incident. [Online] Available at:
https://www.uber.com/newsroom/2016-data-incident/ [Accessed 16 October 2018].

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Laurell, C. & Sandstorm, C., 2016. Analysing Uber in social media—disruptive technology
or institutional disruption? International Journal of Innovation Management, 20(5),
p.1640013.
Lee, D., 2017. Uber concealed huge data breach. [Online] Available at:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/technology-42075306 [Accessed 17 October 2018].
Liu, L., Han, M., Wang, Y. & Zhou, Y., 2018. Understanding data breach: a visualization
aspect. International Conference on Wireless Algorithms systems and applications, pp.883-
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Picanso, K.E., 2010. Protecting information security under a uniform data breach notification
law. Fordham L., (Rev.), p.355.
Schultz, R.A., 2009. Contemporary issues in ethics and information technology. Ed. ed.
London: IGI Global.
Taschler, E., 2015. A crumbling monopoly: the rise of Uber and the Taxi Industry’s struggle
to survive. Chicago: Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies, pp.1-8.
Vacca, J., 2012. Computer and information security handbook. London: Newnes.
Wong , J.C., 2017. Uber concealed massive hack that exposed data of 57m users and drivers.
[Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/nov/21/uber-data-hack-
cyber-attack [Accessed 16 October 2018].