Strategic Information Systems: A Case Study of The Commonwealth Bank of Australia

This report delves into the strategic implementation of information systems within The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). It examines the bank's core business processes, identifies key business requirements, and explores the potential benefits and challenges of adopting Oracle ERP. The report further analyzes the impact of technology on business efficiency, evaluates the effectiveness of technology implementation, and investigates potential security risks and data breaches. Finally, it provides practical guidelines for mitigating these risks and ensuring the secure and efficient operation of CBA's information systems.

Strategic Information system
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
1. Define business processes...................................................................................................4
2. Develop business requirements..........................................................................................5
3. Determine the systems requirements..................................................................................6
4. Software and vendor selection............................................................................................8
5. Determine at least three ways which companies or organization utilize such technologies to
improve business efficiency.....................................................................................................10
6. Evaluate the level of efficiency of the technology implementation.....................................13
7. Examine Potential security risk and data breaches..............................................................15
8. Provide guidelines on how these risks could be mitigated..................................................17
Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................18
References:...............................................................................................................................19
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Introduction
This report introduces to the notion of the information system. The report laid attention on the
core business functions and operations which are undertaken by The Commonwealth Bank of
Australia. The bank recognizes the need for systems and business requirements to manage its
business operations. Further, this report presents the evaluation of technology for the
effectiveness of business. This report also presents the standards which are required to be
followed by the company for picking the right vendor and software. This report highlights the
three ways which are implemented by The Commonwealth Bank of Australia to improve the
overall competence and effectiveness of the banking business. Finally, this report presents the
risk which is faced by the bank and various measures to overcome these security issues and
threats. The entire report is presented and discussed in a systmat9c manner so that clear
conclusion can be drawn
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1. Define business processes
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is an Australian international bank with dealings
throughout, the United States, the United Kingdom. New Zealand and Asia, the
commonwealth bank of Australia are generally mentioned to as the Commonwealth Bank (or
Commbank or CBA ), it offers a diverse range of financial services together with business,
institutional and retail banking, broking services, insurance, superannuation, investment, and
funds management. The Commonwealth Bank is one of the largest Australian registered
businesses on the Australian Securities Exchange
The Commonwealth Bank is Australia's main retail bank and gives the consumer a variety of
services and products, comprising savings accounts, loans, credit cards and transaction. It has
the largest ATM network and branches. It also provides numerous services to the persons
who are planning to transport to Australia. The Commonwealth Bank also offers online
banking facilities through Net Bank. Net Bank permits customers to transmit the funds,
manage financial records, access liabilities, and assets and also saving goals and manage
savings. NetBank is also obtainable with a cell phone app accessible for Android and iOS.
This efficiently agrees on consumers do small-medium dealings and everyday investment on
the go (Dumas, et. al., 2013).
The banking operations conducted by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia are complex as
they consist of multiple task and activities. The business performances of the bank consist of
call centre support ,underwriting, custom development, foreclosure, default management,, ,
interface for consumer data custody services, recoveries processing, fraud mitigation and
detection reporting,, management of technology platforms, regulatory and
program compliance, collections, , conversions, portfolio analytics, , risk management and
credit loans or consumer support. The bank performs its business function on a global level
so it is hard for the bank to maintain its operations. The rise in the business functions of the
Commonwealth Bank of Australia mandates the implementation of enterprise resource
planning software in the bank. The need for the implementation of the ERP software is
recognized by the managers of the bank due to the net banking and various other services
which are offered by the bank through online platforms. Implementing ERP in business
function assists in the banking transactions which are being carried out by the
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (Breheny and McQUAID, 2018).
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2. Develop business requirements
One of the most basic needs of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia consists of effective
cash management process, consumer connection management, finance and human resources.
The prime business requirements of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia are specified
below:
 The business requirements of the banks can be further classified into functional and non-
functional business requirements. The non-functional business requirements are mainly those
requirements which are not concerned with the specific functions which are delivered by the
system. Her are relevant to the emergent system properties like response time, reliability, and
store occupancy. They may specify system requirements, availability, security and other
emergent properties
 The Commonwealth Bank of Australia requires a good business plan to implement the ERP
software’s into the business functions. A good business plan lay emphasis on the training and
support so that effective and efficient implementation of the ERP software.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is required to develop strategies so that it can survive
in the competitive business environment (Elzamly & Hussin, 2014).
 The important business requirement is an effective backup and recovery. The bank should
ensure an adequate backup of the data which is required by the banking operations.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia should also have a well-documented and tested
business continuity plan which addresses all the aspects of the banking business
 The Commonwealth Bank of Australia also requires money or finance to manage its business
functions in a well-organized manner. The need of money helps in the acquisition of essential
business resources like human and technology.
 One of the key business requirements of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia is to maintain
good and healthy relations with the consumers. Maintaining good relations with consumers
helps in building a good reputation of the bank in both local and global markets (Jacques,
2017).
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 All the above-specified business requirements are essential to be accepted and undertaken by
the Commonwealth Bank of Australia to manage its business operations in a smooth manner.
The prime business requirement of the bank is to align with the technology and to implement
ERP solution into its operations so that the resource of the company can be planned and
managed in a well-organized manner.
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3. Determine the systems requirements
Oracle ERP" is not a specific description. However, it is mainly referred to as an EBS (E-
Business Suite), the major ERP product mark in an evidence group of Oracle's applications.
The abbreviation ERP states for enterprise resource planning. It denotes to software and the
systems packages which are utilized by the business organizations to regulate their routine
business functions, like manufacturing, procurement, project management and
accounting. ERP systems link together and describe a surplus of business procedures and
allow the movement of information among them. By gathering an establishment’s shared
transactional information from numerous sources, ERP methods remove data replication and
offer data reliability with a “single basis of reality.”
Figure: Oracle- E-business suite
Source: (Monk and Wagner, 2012)
The need for the implementation of Oracle ERP is essential for the success and survival of
the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Oracle-ERP reduces the work of the internal staff. The
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software also assists in managing the data duplication and replication issues. The need for the
implementation of Oracle ERP suite is recognized by the company due to the loss and
mismanagement of the data. Due to the use of the enterprise resource planning software
mostly the Oracle, the whole business processes which are executed by the bank are now
more structured and under control. The managers of the bank are trying to align the goal so
the company and Oracle ERP so that it can mix well with the company’s functions and
processes. Implementing the Oracle ERP solutions will provide better business solutions to
the bank and help in managing the fraud and risk which are faced by the company in the
modern days on a rapid scale. In addition to this, the implementation of Oracle ERP is
essential for the safety and security of the client information. With the rapid increase in
technology, the numbers of cybercrimes are increasing. Hence, implementing such business
solution will help in mitigating the loss of data, duplication of data and various other related
issues. The prime business requirement of the bank is to align with the technology and to
implement ERP solution into its operations so that the resource of the company can be
planned and managed in a well-organized manner (Harwood, 2017).
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4. Software and vendor selection
It is important for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia to select the most accurate and
reliable software and vendor so that the establishment can easily manage and run its business
operations both locally and globally. The selection of software and the vendor selection by
the Commonwealth Bank of Australia are done on the base of the following standards:
Guessing out what the bank really needs:
The first thing which is to be considered is what is exactly required by the business. The goal
of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia should run parallel with the oracle-ERP software. It
is necessary for the business to evaluate the vendors.
Investigating the software provider's certificates and credentials:
The next phase is to examine the technology software vendors and partner to look deeply into
the background. It is also necessary to look into the credentials and certificates before
selecting the vendor.
Deliberate the attitudes of other consumers
The vendor is required to consider the opinion of other consumers who are using the same
software. It is important for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia to evaluate the particular
requirements of the consumer. The needs of the consumer keep on changing in an order to
ascertain all the needs of the consumer it is important for the bank to install Oracle ERP
software
Can it scale?
The managers of the bank are required to comprehend the stages of customization and
scalability. The software and vendor selection must be done by rightly scaling the needs of
the consumers. The latest technology decision-makers should consider the adoption of new
business solutions.
Check for additional fees or hidden cost:
When a contract or agreement is made with the vendor it is important for the bank to
recognize all the hidden charges and additional fees associated with the implementation of
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the Oracle ERP software. The managers of the bank must look for the rules and regulation so
that the additional fees and hidden cost can be disclosed to the company while selecting the
vendor. If the Commonwealth Bank of Australia finds that the software implementation is not
fruitful and in fact adding to the cost of the company it must be immediately shut down.
Agree to the KPIs (key performance indicators) before signing an agreement
It is important for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia to agree to the key performance
indicators before signing the agreement s. the key performance indicators are the accurate
measures for ascertaining the reliability and viability of the vendor selections for the
implementation of oracle-ERP software (Lasisi, et. al., 2017).
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5. Determine at least three ways which companies or organization utilize such
technologies to improve business efficiency
Adopting Oracle- ERP software will help in managing and improving the efficiency of the
business operations which are managed and controlled by the Commonwealth Bank of
Australia. Technology is the prime tool to survive in the competitive world. Hence, the
implementation of the EPR technology or solution is essential for increasing the profits,
safety and growth of the bank. The three prime ways which are executed by Commonwealth
Bank of Australia? To improve the capability and efficiency of the banking business are:
Big data analytics:
The notion of big data analytics has been everywhere for years; most of the business
organizations now comprehend that if they detain all the information which torrents into their
businesses, they can put on analytics and contract significant worth from it. Big data analytics
assist the bank to connect their information and utilize it to recognize new opportunities.
That, in return, leads to smoother business moves, well-organized operations, happier
consumers and higher profits.
Figure: Advantages of Big data analytics
Source: (Alipourfard, et. al., 2017)
The new advantages which the big data analytics brings to the Commonwealth Bank of
Australia are efficiency and speed. Big data analytics helps in increasing the production and
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sales of the business. The benefit of using big data analytics is to make faster decisions and
reduce the cost of services which are being offered by the bank.
Cloud computing:
Cloud computing is referred as a cluster of networked components which are providing
facilities which are not required be managed and addressed individually by the users; instead,
the entire provider-managed suite of software and hardware and can be understood of as a
shapeless cloud.
Figure: Cloud computing
Source: (Marinescu, 2017).
Cloud computing is the distribution of computing facilities—storage, servers, software,
databases, analytics, networking, and more—over the Internet which is the cloud. The
Companies which are providing these computing facilities are entitled as cloud providers
and usually charge for the cloud computing facilities on the basis of usage, comparable to in
what way you are payable for electricity or water at home
Strategy forecasting and flexibility:
In the current business environment, there is a need to frame strategies. The competition
faced by Commonwealth Bank of Australia is rising at an accelerating rate. There is a need
for the establishment of a business plan and effective strategies in an order to survive in the
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competitive market. The bank should adopt the strategies top reduce the duplication of data
so that data integrity can be maintained. Adopting the ERP technologies will help in
improving the business operations which are managed and controlled by the Commonwealth
Bank of Australia.
Moreover e. it is important for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia to be flexible so that it
can consider the changing needs of the consumers and accordingly alter its business
functions. With the rapid globalization, the need for technology is increasing, it is important
for the bank to undertake each of the technical needs and to align these needs in the business
operations of the company.
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6. Evaluate the level of efficiency of the technology implementation
Implementing technology is really important for the survival and growth of the
Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Implementing oracle-ERP can have both positive and
negative influence on the levels of efficiencies.
Positive impact
1. Business Security
Technology helps in maintaining the security of the client information. ERP methods remove
data replication and offer data reliability with a “single basis of reality.” The overall security
of the business is maintained by high-speed cameras, firewalls and password protection.
2. Overall Business Efficiency
Implanting technology boost the performances of the company as there is ease in doing the
task with the aid of technology. Technology plays a crucial role in the survival of business in
the global world. Implementation of technology gave rise to the net banking which is one of
the most recognized innovations of the banking operations (Tian and Xu, 2015).
3. Automation of Operations
Due to the implementation of technology, there is automation of business operations which
enables more profits and transaction for the banking business. The automation of banking
operations enables the Commonwealth Bank of Australia to accomplish its business goals and
objectives in set time frames. The automatic operations increase the level of effectiveness and
efficiencies of the business.
4. Quick decision making
Good investment in technology makes the business operations more smooth and effective.
Due to the implementation of the Oracle-ERP Software’s in the Commonwealth Bank of
Australia the bank is able to take quick decisions/. Quick decisions help the bank to survive
in the competitive market. Hence, implementation of technology is mandatory for the bank.
Negative impact
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1. Heavy cost
Implementation of oracle ERP is not cost effective deal. The bank needs to hire adequate
experts and install software’s so that Oracle ERP can be implemented. Hence, the overall
implementation of Oracle ERP is costly.
2. Employees resist change
The new implementation of technology is resisted by the employees of the Commonwealth
Bank of Australia. Implementing technology is not an easy task and is resisted by the
employees as they have a fear of losing their job and positions.
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7. Examine Potential security risk and data breaches
The potential security risk and data breaches faced by the Commonwealth Bank of
Australia due to the implementation of technology are specified below:
Data Breaches
Cloud computing and Cloud data storage, in general, are having compulsory cyber-criminals
to conceive new means to evade security technology so they can manage their new
techniques of attack. A data breach can expose sensitive consumer information, trade secrets
and intellectual property all of this can result in serious penalties
Account hijacking:
It is one of the key issues which are faced by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Hijacking leads to the loss of the key business information which is required to be kept
confidential. It is the most faced issues by the banks in the modern world.
Phishing attacks:
It is basically the exploitation of software. The bank faces phishing attacks numerous times
when the data duplicates or third-party access is there in the computer system. Phishing
attacks are considered to be the most harmful attacks and are required to be managed and
controlled
APIs:
Most of the applications and cloud services make use of APIs to have a communication with
new cloud facilities. As a consequence, the safety of APIs themselves has an unswerving
influence on the safety of cloud facilities (Ortmeier, 2017).
DDoS attacks:
These attacks are not new for the banking organizations. The DDoS attacks often impact the
obtainability of the data. The DDoS attacks are harmful as they damage the data which is
stored in the system. DDoS even have a capability to damage the backups.
Malicious Insiders:
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the files and external drives provided by the third party is not completely safe and consist of
viruses and worms which goes directly into the system and damage it so that all the data is
lost
Lacking or Insufficient Due Diligence
Due diligence is considered as a procedure for assessing cloud vendors to safeguard that
finest practices are in place. Lacking the due diligence leads to the loss of crucial data and
information. The vendor can only be trusted if the services offered by them are in good faith
Weak authentication and identity management
An absence of appropriate verification and individuality results in the breach of the data. At
times, the management is held accountable for data breaches which occur within the bank.
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8. Provide guidelines on how these risks could be mitigated
The below specified are some of the best practices and critical data security risk
recommendations that can help the Commonwealth Bank of Australia to guard their
operations and assets :
 Generating a solid and strong password as data breaches are out of control so it is important
to create e strong password. Preferably, the passwords must be made up of at least 10
characters which are the combination of symbols, uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and
numbers.
 The bank should hide its web surfing clickstream history. It is important for the bank to adopt
this practice so that marketing companies cannot track the online behavior of the bank.
 Backing up the information on daily basis. The quickest method to backup documents is to
plug a hard drive into the computer and counterfeit the files. Another significant plan for the
backup is the Cloud services which are a cost-effective solution but they must be encrypted
(Kalaiprasath, et. al., 2017)
 Displaying an error message can also be an effective guild line for ensuring that the data is
not corrupt and all the risk can be detected in the set time frames.
 Engaging a professional to analyze and collect qualitative and quantitative and information
security metrics in the bank. These accumulated metrics must enrich the safety procedures in
place and offer value to Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Regular risk assessment is
considered to be the most effective practice to define and measure the security metrics
 Using a database index which is an information structure to increase an inquiry’s execution
time.
 Applying user consents is an important security requirement. The Permissions must only be
disseminated to crucial employees.
 The bank should continuously scan the email attachments and network for malware to evade
potential safety threats.
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 Boosting the security by applying two-factor verification which needs not only needs
usernames and secret code a but also a part of info only the user must be familiar with, such
as private credentials, pattern, and password
All the above-specified guidelines are crucial for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia to
manage and mitigate the security risk and threat faced by the bank.
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Conclusion:
From the above report, it is clear that technology plays an important role in the banking
industry. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia bank performs numerous functions which
are complex and requires the assistance of technology. Oracle ERP is the most popular
business software which is adopted or implemented by the bank to manage its business
operations in a smooth manner. The business requirements of the bank are mainly
technology, human resources, and money. Further, this report concluded that technology
helps in improving the business effectiveness and efficiencies. With the use of ERP software,
the bank will be able to survive and compete in the global and local markets. The bank faces
data breaches and loss of important information due to the continuous attacks by the hackers
and third party. It is essential for the bank to consider some security measures so that the data
or information of the consumers can be maintained by the bank. Hence, technology plays a
pivotal role in the banking organizations and assist the the Commonwealth Bank of
Australia to accomplish its goals and objectives in set time frames.
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