Business Plan: Online Education System for ABC University (ISYS228)

This report presents a business plan for ABC University's online education system, addressing the university's goal of expanding its reach globally. It analyzes the current state of the university, identifies the problem of limited geographical access, and outlines the project's scope and objectives. The report details the competitive advantages using Porter's generic strategies (cost leadership, differentiation, and focus) and his five forces to handle the e-commerce business. It includes the business models (B2C and B2B e-commerce) that ABC University should follow. The report also presents projected outcomes, a prototype database design, and recommendations for implementing the online system, including security measures such as strong passwords, device protection, and multi-factor authentication. The report emphasizes the importance of data privacy, system updates, and secure HTTPS implementation to ensure a secure and successful online learning environment for students worldwide.

Running head: FUNDAMENTAL OF INFORMATION SYSTEM
Business report on ABC University Case Study
Name of Student-
Name of University-
Author’s Note-

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Executive Summary
The report below states the business plan development for implementing the new online
education system for the ABC University. The report discusses the project scope, the project
purpose and the problem that is identified for the project. This report also states the competitive
advantage using the Porter’s model and the five forces that Porter has introduced to handle the e-
commerce business that the ABC University wants to implement. The business model that the
university needs to implement while implementing the system are included in the report along
with the projected outcome and the prototype of the database that is designed for the project.
Some recommendations are also provided at the end of the report stating the recommendations
that the University needs to know for implementing the e-commerce site.

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Introduction
Background Information: This report deal with the case study of ABC University. This
university is the world’s leading university providing its students an area of research
specialization as well as delivers quality education. This university provides undergraduate
degree as well as postgraduate degree to the student. The university has seven total campuses in
Australia.
Problem Identified and its relevance: The student until now had to attend classes and
visit the universities for getting a degree. But now the university wants to extend it service and
wants to provide its excellence service all over the world. The university wants to provide online
education to the students all over the world and all the education programs would be provided
online. The student will not have to visit the University for getting a degree.
Scope: The scope of the project is developing a business plan so that the ABC University
is capable to make its education system digitalized to students all over the world.
Key Terms: Business Models, e-commerce, B2C model, B2B model, and Porter’s
Model.
Purpose and Objectives: The main purpose of this report is to develop a business plan
including the competitive advantage for the new education system that ABC University is
planning to start. This report include the competitive advantage that the university will gain after
developing the system is explained in this report.
The objective of this report is to develop a business report that will include all such
information that are related with the development of the new business that the university wants
to implement.

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This report explains the competitive advantage that the business might face after being
implemented, the business model that the new business will follow, and the projected outcome of
the new business and the prototype of the new business that will be used for developing the
system. This report also includes finding as well as recommendations that are included in
developing the system.
Competitive Advantage
Porter’s generic strategies includes Cost leadership, differentiation as well as focus. With
the cost leadership strategy of Porter’s strategy, the university will be able to gain competitive
advantage that would help to develop edge that would increase the sale and will be able to take
their service from the other competitors (Chaffey, Hemphill and Edmundson-Bird 2015). The
cost leadership strategy includes increasing profits to reduce the cost and increase market share
that charging them to lower prices.
With the differentiation strategy, the service and the product are made from other
universities. This strategy helps to differentiate their products and service from other companies
and make their service more attractive so that they might increase their competition.
The focus strategy that would be included in the university’s new service are mainly
divided in to categories, one is cost focus and the other is differentiation focus. This strategy
helps to concentrate on some particular niche market and would help them to understand
dynamics of market (Cai et al. 2018). The cost focus adds extra feature to serve the market niche.
With the Porter’s model, the university includes five different forces that are to be
included in the business process. The Porter’s model includes

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1. Competitive Rivalry: With this force implemented in the system development, the
university will be able to keep a track on the total number of competitors who compete with this
particular service.
2. Supplier Power: This force mainly helps to define the cost of the service that are
taken from the other suppliers (Akter and Wamba 2016). It is important to choose a cheaper
alternative third party service taken to complete the new service development.
3. Buyer Power: This forces states the prices that the buyers think about the decrease of
the prices. The buyers should have a proper reason to shift their service from another service.
4. Substitution Threat: This force includes the likelihood of the customers so that they
might find a way about how to do that. The service that is provided by the university should be
unique and should be processed.
5. New Entry Threat: There might be other new entry in the market that the university
might face while dealing introducing a new feature. The university should provide secured
service that others will not be able to provide.
Business Model
The business model that ABC University will follow after the launching of the new
service will include
1. B2C e-commerce: B2C e-commerce includes business to customer model that
includes to purchase the service in shorter time period. This is calculated as the lower value. This
types of business costs less and have lower average value of order and includes less recurring

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orders compared to others. The customer in B2C model helps to browse the university website to
get their service.
2. B2B e-commerce: In business to business model, the university will do business with
other businesses and those businesses are not the final customer. They need to reach to other
customers for taking the service (Yu et al. 2016). As the university will conduct business with
communities, industries as well as businesses, they will have to establish B2B e-commerce
business.
The e-commerce business model that ABC University will follow will be direct
marketing strategies. This is the most effective method and the results in direct online service are
measureable. Turning marketing scheme includes direct online marketing that the business needs
to follow. Direct marketing includes advertising campaign that helps to bring the action that is
selected by some customers. The customer needs to response to the communication with the
marketer.
Project Outcomes
Line chart showing Revenue (in million)
2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020
$0.00
$0.50
$1.00
$1.50
$2.00
$2.50
$3.00
$3.50
$4.00
Revenue (in million)
Figure 1: Revenue of the University

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(Source: Created using Excel)
Monthly Revenue of ABC University
July'18
August'18
September'18
October'18
November'18
December'18
January'19
February'19
March'19
April'19
May'19
June'19
$0
$50,000
$100,000
$150,000
$200,000
$250,000
Monthly Revenue
Figure 2: Monthly Revenue of the University
(Source: Created using Excel)
Quarterly Revenue
21%
24%
27%
29%
Quarterly Revenue
July'18 - Sep'18
Oct'18 - Dec'18
Jan'19 - Mar'19
Apr'19 - June'19
Figure 3: Quarterly Revenue of the University
(Source: Created using Excel)

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Prototype
Creating database
Figure 4: Creating Teacher Table
(Source: Created using Access)

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Figure 5: Creating Unit Table
(Source: Created using Access)
Figure 6: Creating Student Table
(Source: Created using Access)

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Findings and Recommendations
As ABC University needs to implement an online learning system that would be able to
provide degrees to the students. But at the time of implementation, there are some risks and
security issues that are to be included in the system. Ecommerce security includes frequency as
well as sophistication that are included in the cyber-attacks. It is important to handle the security
issues that are included in launching an e-commerce website. It is important to have cyber
security in e-commerce website include compliance, financial solvency, and includes customer
trust. Compliance include ground level that includes the commitment of the website.
There can be phishing attack, hacking attack, credit card fraud, unprotected online
services as well as data errors that the ABC University might face in completing the launching of
the website. Adoption of techniques includes forcing the multilayer security, deploying the PCI
scan, includes initiating as well as concluding the transactions that are on the sites with the SSL
certification.
As best recommendation, to implement the online website service for providing service
to the student the following points are recommended.
1. Implement Strong Passwords: While implementing the new online system, the
system should have a unique password that would help to secure the system. There should be
strong password that should maintain all the specification of password.
2. Protecting the devices: The device that includes the system needs to be secured and
should include networked system. This includes that the system device should be connected with
the devices should have anti-virus installed in the system. There should also be a firewall in the
system connected network.

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3. Steel with attempt of social engineering: The best way to avoid the malware includes
falling in the phishing traps. It is not necessary to provide any personal information that are to be
verified so that the identity of the recipient can be included. The administration should never
click on any suspicious mails without knowing.
4. Implementing the factors of authentication: The University should implement two
way verification as well as includes 2-factor authentication. This would help them to assure that
the user is authenticated and people who are logging in the system are real. All the potential
consequences of breach are to be considered.
5. Storing the data that are needed: The company should need to store the data that are
actually needed by the administrator. All the data are not to be considered for the business and
there are lot of factors are to be considered. The regulations of data privacy are to be done and
are to be included in securing the system.
6. Keep the site up to date: All the system that will be connected in handling this online
business are to be kept up to date so that there is no possibility data breach in the systems. The
cyber attackers mainly includes vulnerabilities that includes software patches in the system. The
software included in the system should be updated from time to time.
7. Switch the network to HTTPS: There should be secure HTTPS that helps in hosting.
This includes SSL certificate that would help to secure the website. The switch for the HTTPS
would help to increase the marketing department and includes search rankings. This helps in
sending positive trust signal to all the shoppers.

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8. Backing up the data: If the data of the University are to be kept from data breach,
then the university needs have backup for the data that are included in the system. The backup
system needs to run and backup the system and system are to be ran as soon as possible.
9. Review the plugins and other third party integrations: There should be a third party
inventory that are to be kept in the university. If the store is not used, then the integration system
is to be removed from the university.
Conclusion
From the above report it can be summarized that the detailed business plan for
developing the new business in the ABC University will be helpful for the students all over the
world. This report describes the purpose of the report and fulfills the project objective that is
defined in the beginning of the project. In the above discussion, the competitive advantage for
implementing the new online system. The new system that is to be implemented in the system
includes a prototype that is also stated in this report. This report includes finding and
recommendations for the new online system that the university wants to launch for enhancing its
business.
This report explains that the university is will have competitive advantage after
implementing the online system of learning and providing student with the degrees as distant
education. The report explains the competitive advantage with Porter’s generic strategies and
with Porter’s Model. The business model that is stated in the report explains that the business the
university is planning to set up includes B2C business as will directly contact student for having
distant education and also will have B2B business as the university also wants to work in