Bristol Paint: Cloud Computing Implementation Strategic Plan Report

This report, the second stage of a project for Bristol Paint, details the strategic planning for implementing cloud computing. It outlines the future state of the organization, emphasizing increased information availability and improved decision-making. The report analyzes alignment with existing business strategies and processes, highlighting the benefits of cloud computing in terms of customer service and market share. It presents a strategic plan, including conceptual design and a business case, and addresses change and risk management. Stakeholder management, costing, and budget management are also discussed. The implementation, using vendors like Microsoft, Google, or Amazon, involves outsourcing application development and upgrading the CRM system. A phased implementation using Kotter's eight-step change model is proposed to manage the transition, and potential risks, such as increased costs and employee redundancy, are identified with mitigation strategies. The report concludes that the cloud computing implementation is likely to enhance the organization's efficiency and strategic objectives. The budget for the project is also mentioned.

Bristol Paint
(Assignment 2)
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Future State of the Organization................................................................................................2
Alignment with Existing Business Strategies............................................................................3
Alignment with Existing Business Process................................................................................3
Strategic Plan/Conceptual Design/Business Case......................................................................4
Adoption and Change Management...........................................................................................4
Risk Management.......................................................................................................................5
Stakeholders Management.........................................................................................................5
Costing and Budget Management..............................................................................................6
Conclusions................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................6

Introduction
The current paper is the second stage of the report after the approval of business case for the
implementation of cloud computing within Britol Paint. The current paper will follow on the
strategic planning aspects of the project. The previous report has successfully established that
the organization require the implementation of cloud computing due to the changes in the
business scenario. The focus is to increase the mobility of the organization by increasing the
availability of the information. The cloud computing technology will upgrade the
organization from the traditional ERP system to cloud based system. This is likely to help the
employees working within the organization get the business specific data and information on
the go. The next few sections cover the various aspects of strategic planning for the
organization. In the end, conclusive remarks have been given based on the overall strategic
plan preceded by the budget and costing for the project to be implemented.
Future State of the Organization
The implementation of cloud computing within the organization will allow Brstol Paint to
compete with other companies effectively. The new system will increase the increase the
availability of the information for the organizational members and they don’t have to depend
on accessing their official computers to get the information (Mell & Grance, 2011). Due to
this, the decision making ability of the organization is likely to be improved due to increased
collaboration. In addition, the security of the data and information will significantly increase.
There are few reputed cloud computing vendors who provide great features with the cloud
computing. The improved security of data will keep aside the fear of data theft and the
organization will share and work with the data on a continued basis. The upgraded CRM and

inclusion of IoT will fast track the customer serviceability of the organization and will
increase the reach of the company along with the customer base.
Alignment with Existing Business Strategies
The focus of the organization is to reduce the investment in the information technology
infrastructure and at the same time increase the time to market solutions. The cloud
computing on one hand increase the information accessibility, upgraded CRM on the other
will allow the improvement in the customer service. This completely aligns with the
company’s current business strategy as these implementations will take further the current
focus of the company which is to service more clients and gain competitive edge in the
market. The new and improved technology will help the company make decisions faster and
capture greater market share. (Marston et al, 2011) As per wearables are concerned, it would
not be an appropriate tool to consider right now as the success of this technology is yet to be
confirmed successfully in companies around the world. Once this technology finds greater
success with little to no risks, then it will be considered for Bristol Paint.
Alignment with Existing Business Process
The business process refers to the various linked activities that help the company achieve its
daily, weekly, or monthly objectives. The inclusion of cloud computing will increase the
ability to share data and information with the internal or external stakeholders. This will lead
to faster operational activities (Weinhardt et al, 2009). The time and resources consumed
behind data sharing and its security can be diverted to further increasing the core operational
activities that bring direct value to the customers. The improved CRM will help in increasing
the number of customers that are served on regular basis. Moreover, it will help the
employees in handling more tasks in less time consumption. The current ERP system is not

that efficient which slows down the implementation of any decision However, the use of
faster and upgraded technology the everyday activities will be handled efficiently and
effectively.
Strategic Plan/Conceptual Design/Business Case
The current cloud computing technology will be rented from suitable vendors. There are
various vendors such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon that provides appreciable services in the
cloud computing. The cloud computing applications will be built by outsourcing the activity.
It will be further integrated with the existing system so that the company does not have to
invest in major changes initially. Moreover, the CRM software will be further upgraded to
meet the increasing service demand of the customers. The data and information will be stored
in cloud instead of in-house. The data will be accessible through mobile devices, employees’
personal computers and office computers. This will also increase the remote working
capability of the employees (Krutz & Vines, 2010). The wearable technology will placed in
research and development mode where it will be implemented on specific division for trial
and testing. If it is found successful, it will be implemented further within the entire
organization.
Adoption and Change Management
The implementation of these three technologies within the organization will require that the
organizational employees are ready for the change. Therefore, appropriate change
management methodology will be implemented. The implementation will be done using the
Kotter’s eight step change model (Kotter, 1995). Initially, the need or urgency for the change
will be established within the organization. After that, teams will be formed who will lead the
change. The next step will be to establish a vision for change which will allow the employees

to see where we are trying to reach with these changes. In the next step, the vision will be
communicated to the employees. The next step would be to implement the change in a phased
manner. Since it is a complete overhaul of the system, phase implementation will ensure that
no major disruption impact the on-going business process and profitability. The next step in
this would build upon the changes and ensuring that it stays within the organization. The
support of top management is vital in the implementation.
Risk Management
The new technology to be implemented has some risks that should be considered to ensure
that appropriate mitigation plan is considered from the beginning (Jorion, 1997). The first
likely risk of the implementation is the increased cost of the implementation. This can be
mitigated considering the budget of the organization and bringing in services that are less
costly. The second risk can be redundancy of the employees who are not capable to learn the
new technology. This can situation can be mitigated by either providing right form of training
or replacing those employees with the individuals who are able to operate the new
technology. Another possible risk is the development of chaotic situation within the
organization due to such major changes which might disrupt the everyday functioning. This
can be mitigated by ensuring that the implementation is in accordance to the plan, in a phased
manner, throughout the entire organization.
Stakeholders Management
The stakeholders that might be impacted with this new technological change can be internal
or external. The internal stakeholder refers to project team, employees and the management,
and the external stakeholder refers to the customers and shareholders. Here, it is important
that these stakeholders are managed effectively to ensure that the implementation of the new

system does not impact them adversely (Delmas & Toffel, 2004). Moreover, it is necessary to
ensure that they coordinate in the implementation instead of acting as the road block. The
stakeholder will be managed by the deputation of a communication manager who will ensure
effective communication among them.
Costing and Budget Management
The costing and budget will be managed by the finance department of the organization.
Though the budget for the project will be provided to the finance manager by the project
manager which will be further approved after consultation with the top management. The
table below shows the brief project budget:
Particulars Amount ($)
Cloud Computing 11,000
Cloud Computing Application 13,500
CRM Upgrade 5,000
Wearable Implementation 15,000
Miscellaneous 25,000
Total 69,000
Conclusions
The overall implementation of the technologies within the organization is likely to ensure
that the organization become more efficient in handling the daily activities and achieve
strategic objectives. There will be certain challenges while implementing the new technology
in the initial stage, but with persistent effort and right implementation method, success can be

achieved. It is recommended that the implementation should be done in phased manner so
that sudden disruption and its negative impact can be prevented.