Digital Business Report: Analysis of Colt Technology Services

This report offers a comprehensive analysis of digital business principles and their application to Colt Technology Services, a multinational telecommunications company. It begins with an overview of digital businesses, discussing their merits (enhanced data collection, increased con...Read More

Digital business

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................3
Overview of digital business with merits and demerits applied to the Colt technology services
.....................................................................................................................................................3
Critical evaluation of rising digital business models in relation to chief business issues such as
cyber security and ethics ............................................................................................................5
Evolution of collaborative relationships and strategic alliances through digital technology for
Colt technology services ............................................................................................................7
Description of e-commerce principles and their usage for Colt technology services ................9
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................11
REFRENCES ................................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Swift growth in usage and development of digital technology has helped in creation of
digital business organisations. Digital business organisations utilise advanced digital technology
to enhance interaction with consumers and employees, deliver exceptional consumer experience
and offer improved goods which for perpetual success of the organisation. The digital business
organisation selected for this report is Colton technology services which is multinational
telecommunications company headquartered in London, United kingdom. The firm was founded
in the year 1992 and offers cloud services, business networking services, security services along
with various services to consumers in more than 30 international markets. This report includes
overview of digital business with application of merits and demerits applied to the Cotl
technology services. Digital business models are evaluated in this report in context of chief
business issues such as cyber security and ethical issues. Strategic alliance and collaborative
relationship are evaluated through digital technology are evaluated in this report in context of
Colt technology company. In addition to this E-commerce principles are also described in this
report along with their usage for Colt technology services.
MAIN BODY
Overview of digital business with merits and demerits applied to the Colt technology services
Digital businesses are defined as organisations which create new business designs which
connect people and corporations along with connecting people and corporations with things
which increase efficiency and profitability (Santos, Murmura and Bravi, 2018). Digital business
help in removal of existing industry obstacles while building new value chains and growth
opportunities which are not offered by traditional business organisations. Firms which primarily
offer digital products are considered a digital company along with businesses which offer

convention goods and are undertaking digital transformation for growth and development of the
company.
Digital business organisation share some common elements. High focus on mobility and
connectivity is a primary element of digital businesses. Improvement in cellular technology,
widespread use of internet and omni channel capabilities has helped digital corporates towards
high connectivity with consumers and employees (Heavin and Power, 2018). Utilisation of social
media platforms is another common element of digital businesses as it enables effective
collaboration and communication with employees. Digital business organisations use social
media platforms to regularly communicate with employees and consumers alike. Digital
businesses have created organisational culture centred around information. The main reason
behind construction of an information-centric culture is presence of large amount of consumer
data and analytical tools to identify trends and predictive outcomes. In addition to this digital
business firms utilise analytical tools to gain real time consumer, employee and competitor data
(Lee, 2017). This helps the firm immediately respond to various changes in the market. Digital
business firms utilise cloud computing technology in order to enhance their Information
Technology infrastructure and seek digital disruption.
Merits of digital businesses
 Enhanced data collection: Digital businesses are able to collect large amount of data
about their employees and consumers with the help of digital technology. Business firms
gain data driven insights which improves their decision making process. In addition to
this analytical tools, digital business organisations can predict future outcomes precisely
and identify fraudulent behaviour.
In context of Colt technology services, enhanced data collection has helped the company
improve quality of their services by analysing network traffic and call data records. This has
helped the firm gain success in their industry. In addition to this real time analysis of call data
has helped the company identify acts of fraud.
 Enhanced consumer output: Digital businesses are able to increase employee output by
gaining real time employee progress information and using digital technology to create
streamlined flow of work. Digital businesses are able to generate high profitability by
applying digital technology to enhance employee productivity (Le Dinh, and et. al.,
2018).

Colt utilises digital technology to track and analyse employee progress and take measures
to ensure continuous improvement of each employee. The respective organisation utilises digital
technology to give their employees work from home option. This allows employee to work
flexibly and increases overall output of the firm.
 Digital disruption: Digital businesses are able to create digital disruption with the help
of their products, services or business models. The process of impacting value of existing
products or services in the market with the help of digital technology and digital business
models is termed digital disruption. Digital businesses gain competitive position in their
industry with the help of digital disruption.
Colt technology services has been able to utilise their digital business model and products
to create digital disruption in their British telecom industrious. This is showcased by swift
growth of the company in London and expansion in European, American and Asian market. The
company was able to gain listing in London Stock exchange and compete with telecom giants
like British telecommunication with the help of digital technology and business model.
Demerits of digital businesses
Longevity: Primary demerit of digital businesses is the short lifespan of the digital
technology utilised by the company to conduct daily business operations. Digital technology
upgrades at a fast pace and digital technology used by business organisations quickly becomes
archaic are unusable (Batran, and et. al., 2017). The main reason behind such short lifespan of
digital technology is that they are incompatible with other gadgets essential for the firm or
upgraded versions of the technology is available in the market. Digital businesses have to
constantly upgrade their technological infrastructure because of this issue.
In relation to Colt technology services, regular up-gradation of technology is essential in
order to ensure protection from new cyber security threats. The firm has to invest in technology
after regular time periods which is time consuming and financially burdening.
Maintenance costs: Digital businesses have to spend large amount of money on effective
maintenance of their digital technological equipments and systems. This includes storage and
organisation of digital data along with maintenance costs of digital systems to reduce threat of
security breach (Beynon-Davies, 2020).
Colt technology services makes high investment on maintenance of digital technology in
order to secure private data of the consumer an employee. The company invests in maintenance

to ensure smooth functioning of the company. This firm is dependent on smooth functioning of
digital technology to provide consumers best services and small disruption in effective
functioning of such technology could lead to global failure of their connections.
Critical evaluation of rising digital business models in relation to chief business issues such as
cyber security and ethics
Cyber security
Cyber security is a major issue which impacts digital bushinesses. Digital businesses
store and organise information on systems which are connected through internet. This makes
digital firms a prime target of cyber crime (Dornberger, 2018). This makes private consumer data
and sensitive information of the company prone to digital fraud and cuber crime. Digital
anonymity is one of the major factor which contributes to rise in digital fraud.
Colt technology services is a digital organisation which operates in the
telecommunication industry and faces threat of various cyber crimes which include Domain
name security attacks, Session Initiation protocol hacking and many other forms of cyber crime
which are highly destructive for the company.
Subscription business model
In this digital business model consumers have to pay certain amount of charges at regular
time interval in order to gain services and products of the company. The consumer gains periodic
access to the commodities offered by the company after gaining the subscription.
Benefit: The main benefit of this business model is that consumers have to give their
information in order to gain subscription of the products offered by the company which
eliminates anonymity. Removal of anonymity helps the company identify cases of fraud quickly
which protects the firm from cuber crimes.
Drawbacks: The main drawbacks associated with this digital business model is that
business organisations are not able to maintain balanced volume of their products or services.
Construction of loyal consumer is another drawback associated with this model which effects
long term survival of the company.
Ethical issues
Utilisation of digital technology bin business organisations has bought up various issues
related to ethical usage of such technology. Collection and utilisation of consumer data with
transparency is an ethical issue which need to be addressed by digital business organisations.

Business organisations need to gain consent of their consumers before using their data and
maintain privacy of consumer (Gray, 2019). In context of digital business firm Colt technology
services, creation of transparent digital services is the main ethical issue which needs to be
addressed by the company.
Freemium model
This is an emerging digital business model which involves offering basic portions of the
services of the firm for free in order to attract large masses of the consumers. The firm aims
persuade existing users of the service to purchase premium service which provide better version
of the free services, larger volume of services, remove interruptions such as advertisement or to
gain more data (Chen and et. al., 2018). This model helps the company gain large number of
audience for their free services swiftly after which the firm is able to persuade the user into
buying premium version of the product through effective marketing.
Benefits: The main benefits of the freemium business model is that it solves the ethical
issue of transparency. Consumers pay for a premium version of the free product they are using
and gain transparent information about their data usage and the reason for which they are
switching to the premium version of the product. This helps the company complete their ethical
duties responsibly.
Drawbacks: Utilisation of the freemium business model required high initial investment
in order to provide free services to the consumers. High initial investment is very risky as there is
no assiduity that consumers will purchase premium version of the product.
In context of Colt technology services, freemium model is the most suitable model for the
firm as it helps the company offer their services in a transparent manner. The respective
company needs to utilise this digital business model by offering basic cloud computing services
for free. This will attract a large number of users and the firm can market premium cloud
computing services to their free users which need to be purchased. This will not only help the
company expand international operations swiftly as consumers are attracted towards free
services but also increase digital transparency which is an ethical issue faced by the firm.
Evolution of collaborative relationships and strategic alliances through digital technology for
Colt technology services
Collaborative relationship

Collaborative relationship is constructed between two business organisations collaborate
with each other in order to complete certain objectives for mutual benefit of the company.
Collaborative relationships are formed and sustained with the help of digital technology. This
type of collaborative relationship connects a broader network of participants who are able to
accomplish complicated tasks as a group more than they would on their own (Dellermann,
Fliaster and Kolloch, 2017).
Benefits: The main benefits of formation of collaborative technology through digital
technology is that it allows the company to enter new fields by collaborating with business
organisations from various industries.
Drawbacks: Collaboration through digital technology is usually completed through
cloud computing technology which increase the risk cyber crime for every firm participating in
the collaboration. In addition to this as collaborative relationships do not require formation of
documentation which outlines various rules and regulations of the business relations (Park and
Armstrong, 2017). This increases the possibility of theft of Intellectual property which is highly
disadvantageous for digital businesses.
Strategic alliance
A strategic alliance is defined as the formation of unison between two or more
organisations to engage in a set of activities which are agreed by every member of the alliance
while remaining independent business firms. Digital business organisations form strategic
alliance with each other for variety of reasons which includes security and stability and expand
their business operations.
Benefits: The main benefits associated with strategic alliance formed with the help of
digital technology is that business organisations gain access to large amount of resources and
expertise. This helps the business organisation gain competitive advantage or improve their
business processes.
Drawbacks: The main drawbacks of strategic alliance is that corporations have low
control over various business activities and there is high chances of disputes between the
company (Tjemkes, Vos and Burgers, 2017). Strategic alliance also increases barriers for timely
completion of business objectives as multiple organisations have to approve every business
operation undertaken by the business alliance.

Colt technology services needs to formulate strategic alliance through digital technology
as it will help the company enhance organisational competencies and swiftly expand their
international presence. Threat of Intellectual property theft is also reduced in a strategic alliance
as participants of a strategic alliance build documentation which contains regulations of the
alliance.
Description of e-commerce principles and their usage for Colt technology services
E-commerce is defined as the process of completing commercial transaction through an
electronic network which is usually the internet. E-commerce utilises wide range of technologies
for swift and safe commercial or data transfer through the internet. Mobile commerce, electronic
funds transfer, internet marketing , online transaction processing and electronic data interchange
are examples of some digital technology which are used to transfer money and data with the help
of the Internet. E-commerce has rapidly grown over the years and rapid digitalisation of
developing and developed economies is the main reason behind swift growth of E-commerce.
Digital business organisations conduct business transactions through e-commerce and traditional
businesses are using e-commerce to expand their business operations beyond geographical
boundaries. Cost reduction is another factor which has resulted in large number of organisations
adopting e-commerce (Sharma and Aggarwal, 2019). E-commerce reduces costs of the firm by
eliminating the need of physical stores and employees as the company can interact with
consumers and persuade them to purchase their products or services on digital platforms. In
addition to this business firms gain large amount of consumer data by offering e-commerce
services to their consumers which can be used to enhance consumer experience. Colt technology
services offers e-commerce services to their consumers which allows them to purchase wide
range of voice and network services. In order to gain further success respective business firm
need to apply e-commerce principles, which are provided below:
 Data distribution: The first e-commerce principle is centred around giving reliable
information to the consumer and regularly updating the e-commerce site or e-commerce
platform of the company to provide latest information about the company and their
products. This will help the company reduce miscommunication and give consumers
applicable data (Aggarwal and Aakash, 2018).
Colt technology needs to apply this principle by continuously updating their e-commerce website
with. The firm needs to ensure that their target consumer base is given updated information about

the price, offers and additional charges of various services. This will increase positive interaction
with the consumer and result in the consumers getting information according to their service
preferences.
 Dealing with stakeholders: This e-commerce principle emphasises the importance of
building an e-commerce site primarily for the stakeholder which have influence on the
company. This principle states that need to be constructed in a way which reacts to the
competition of the firm, can be customised according to changes in the business
environment and is able to improve relationship between the consumer and the
organisation.
Application of this e-commerce principle to British telecommunication company Colt technology
services involves creation of a customisable e-commerce website which is user friendly,
customisable and improves relation between the consumer and the organisation. The respective
organisation needs to ensure that their e-commerce website or portal is built according to the
needs of their target consumer base and they are able to us the e-commerce portal easily. .
 Promotion: Digital businesses which have an e-commerce platform need to utilise
various digital marketing practices to improve online sales. The firm needs to adopt
various digital promotion techniques such as content marketing, email marketing, video
production, pay per click marketing an many more. This will help the company reach and
intact with their target consumer base and will have a positive impact on income
generated through e-commerce principles (Vakulenko and et. al., 2019).
Colton technology services needs to ensure that their digital presence and e-commerce portals
are marketed effectively. Digital promotional techniques such as pay per click marketing will
help the company market their services to potential consumer base.
 Data collection: This e-commerce principle includes collecting data of users which have
accessed the e-commerce portals. Digital business organisations need to gain the consent
of the consumer before tracking and using their data in order top avoid legal trouble. Data
collection is highly beneficial for the company as the firm can use analytical tools to
predict future outcomes and market trends and gain insight about behaviour of their target
consumer group.
The respective conglomerate needs to develop e-commerce portals which provide consumer data
top the company after gaining consent of the consumer. This will enhance decision making of the

firm as the company will be able to make data driven decisions. In addition to this, predictive
analytical tools will help the company forecast future market trends and gain competitive
advantage in their industry.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it is determined that digital business organisations are growing
rapidly with the help of digital technology. Digital conglomerates gain various advantages such
as data driven consumer insights and enhanced organisational output which help digital
organisations secure beneficial position in their industry. Digital businesses also have some
demerits which need to be addressed ion order to surjective in the industry in long time period.
Growth of digital businesses has lead to creation of various digital business models which are
used by organisations to secure successful position in their industry. Chief business issues such
as cyber security and morality is related to various business models. E-commerce plays a crucial
role in growth of a digital business firm. E-commerce principles need to be understood and
applied by digital business firms in order to make high online sales.

REFRENCES
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