Introduction to Management of Information Systems - Analysis Report

This report analyzes the current information systems environment of the Bandon Group, focusing on its unique meter click billing software and the challenges associated with its existing IT infrastructure. The report examines the limitations of the OMD software, including its lack of a relational database, difficulties in generating reports, and issues with data synchronization between the Pivotal and OMD systems. It also addresses the problems faced by different branches, such as data migration issues and the lack of adoption of certain CRM tools. The report identifies the need for an integrated system that can address these issues, improve data management, and support the business as a whole. The report discusses the strategies for implementing a new information system, emphasizing the importance of choosing the right approach to ensure the project's success.

Running head: INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Introduction to Management of Information Systems
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Table of Contents
Introduction..................................................................................................................................2
Analysis of Current Information Systems Environment..............................................................2
Issues and Limitations within the current environment...............................................................4
Required changes within the organisation...................................................................................7
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................9
References..................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
In the modern day business, one of the aspects which gives a sustained competitive
advantage to a business is the ability to adapt itself to the changing environment. This can be
done in a variety of ways including innovative manufacturing, quicker completion of activities
and a better utilisation of the available resources. The utilisation of resources is dependent on the
effectiveness of the enterprise systems implemented by the business. The most commonly
utilised enterprise system solutions as a part of the business include Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) (Tomić and Jovanović 2016).
The ERP system is used to manage the business as a whole. This is done through the
improvement of the business processes. The functioning of the ERP system takes place in such a
manner that all the employees in an organisation obtain the standardised information in real time.
Hence, if problems occur in any particular department of the entity, then alerts will be created
throughout the organisation (Wachnik 2017). Hence, a problem which occurs in one of the
departments results in the creation of an alert in the other departments and allows them to
prepare for it even before they are faced with the problem themselves. Whereas, a CRM system
is used to manage the potential interactions between a company and its clients. Any CRM
software is mainly used in organising, automating and synchronising marketing, sales and
customer service. The purpose of the CRM software is to keep one’s customer happy and by
keeping them more loyal and valuable to the business.
Analysis of Current Information Systems Environment
One of the most unique aspects of the Information Systems Environment of the Bandon
Group is the meter click billing software which is unique to the industry. Due to this feature, the
company initially adopted a customised software which was useful exclusively for the business.

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However, in 2010, this software needed to be changes as the company was in need of a better
software for its business processes. Hence, the company used the Office Machines Dealership
(OMD) software, which was used by a larger developer of copiers (Corporation 2020). The
meter based billing software was written within the OMD software in COBOL. The add-ons
included currently in the OMD software include the sales management and service management
responsibility functionalities. Any enhancements which are needed to be made to this software
are done on the recommendations of the dealer advisory board.
The IT division is also responsible for connecting the various divisions involved in the
business. Under the IT director’s responsibility, the business successfully managed to connect
the business systems to the main OMD system. However, as noted by the Director, a large
portion of their time needs to be spent on successfully maintaining the connections with the IT
department. Apart from this, another major functioning of the IT system implemented by the
business is the sale prospecting.
The success of the business is largely dependent on the effective sale prospecting by the
responsible parties. At present, the system implemented by the business is extremely complex in
nature. The sales representative employed by the business makes around 25 calls per day to
prospective clients. Among these, the conversion rate of an equipment demonstration
opportunity is around 5 of which one may be converted into a sale. Hence, it is quite evident that
sale prospecting is quite critical for the success of a business. For the purpose of sale
prospecting, the Bandon group is utilising a tool called Pivotal. This tool is useful in the aspect
of supporting ad-hoc queries received by the business (Sedano, Ralph and Péraire 2017). The
reason for this is that they are built using a relational database. All of the divisions adopted a
familiar strategy in which they adopted data from external market databases and into the

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database of Pivotal and generated sale leads for the business. However, as Pivotal and OMD are
not integrated databases, the same data was required to be re-keyed into Pivotal from OMD. The
usage of the Pivotal database also differs to varying degrees in different parts of the business.
While the Bandon Salt Lake City used it mostly to create sale leads, the Bandon Portland branch
uses it to generate sale prospects as well.
One of the first Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools built by the business
includes the functionality bolt-ons to support the specific needs of the customers. Some of the
functions performed with the help of this tool include the creation of service alerts and
development of customer carrier reports. These reports were generated whenever one of the
divisions of the entity exceeded its copier volume by more than 150%. The Director of
Information Technology created a successful pathway for the business in which the data could
easily be migrated between the Pivotal and OMD database. The company has successfully
managed to create more than 50 non-standard pivotal functions which serve the purpose of the
different staff operating within the entity. Other systems implemented by the different divisions
of the business include the Soaring package. This package operates with the help of an SQL
server which supports ad-hoc queries and readily available reports. Another major advantage of
this data package is that it integrates very well with the OMD legacy system database. Hence,
customer data could be easily migrated from one database to another while also allowing for
customer follow-up for the purpose of analysis.
Issues and Limitations within the current environment
One of the main limitations that has been identified with the OMD is that it is not built
with the help of a relational database. A relational database is a database which stores and
provides access to data points which are related to one another (Harrington 2016). These

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relational databases are built on the basis of the relational model which is an intuitive way of
representing data. Due to the lack of a relational database, it becomes difficult to report to
queries on an ad-hoc basis. The main advantages of having a relational database within an
organisation include tracking inventories, processing of ecommerce transactions and managing
huge amounts of customer information. Some of the benefits of a relational database Data
Consistency, Commitment and Atomicity and Stored Procedures. Other problems associated
with the current OMD system is the lengthy period of time taken to generate reports by the IT
system. As it requires an extremely detailed knowledge of the OMD software, generating
business reports becomes difficult. Some other issues as suggested by the employees include the
lack of flexibility of OMD and the difficulty involved in extracting files from it. Hence, one of
the major concerns with the current IT system is the huge amounts of time taken to successfully
generate a business report which can be used by all.
The connecting division is another important feature of the business. In order to maintain
a constant telecommunications network, the IT director needs to spend a major amount of their
time in providing the required support to the IT system.
With regards to sale prospecting, the main issue faced by the business is the lack of
synchronisation between the Pivotal database and the OMD system. Due to this, the data which
was available from OMD had to be re-keyed into the Pivotal system. However, the major
concern in this situation is the duplication of data. As Pivotal is built on a relational database, the
data which is used by the business is stored with all the entries and data can be used to generate
ad-hoc queries and prepare the reports which are useful for the business (Harrington 2016). The
OMD, however, is an extremely complex database where the data cannot be connected with any
other system used by the business. Hence, the possibility of entering the same set of data which

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is already contained in the Pivotal database is extremely high. Apart from the duplication of data,
it also involves the maintenance of a huge set of data. The costs incurred in this regard can be
considered to be less useful for the purpose of the business (Heinz et al. 2019). In the Bardon
Denver branch, the issues faced by the business include the fall-out of the license dates of the
database used by the business. Due to this fallout, the sales representatives had to create their
own databases. This made the Pivotal database unproductive with regards to its usefulness for
the business. Hence, this problem was overcome by the usage of GoldMine, a microcomputer
based database system. The main issue faced by the entity with the bolt-on functionality is the
lack of adoption by a wide variety of staff. While it is useful in meeting the requirements of the
staff, this tool cannot be utilised by the business as a whole. Hence, the issue faced by its
implementation is the fact that it cannot be used by the business at a large scale and is difficult in
meeting the common requirements of the entity. Hence, there is a clear need for the existence of
a system which meets the requirements of the organisation as a whole. Other issues faced with
the usage of this system is its extremely technical nature which made it difficult for the non-
technical managers to comprehend its usage. Other issue was the creation of a large number of
databases which conflicted with the requirements of the local business operating as a part of the
entity. Other issues faced were due to the data migration undertaken from the OMD database.
The data taken from this database needs regular refreshing. Hence, its reliability after a certain
point of time becomes questionable. Hence, frequent problems encountered by the people
operating in the business include missing data and inconsistencies in data from the ones which
previously existed as a part of the business. The costs involved in the implementation of the
database were also very high. The limitations faced by the Soaring package include its lack of
usefulness outside traditional copier business of the entity. Some of the limitations which need to

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be overcome for the business to thrive include information systems consulting, outsourcing of
documents, use of colour graphics and management of documents.
On an overall basis, the main issues faced by the business include the lack of availability
of a proper database and planning tool which can be utilised by the business as a whole. The
OMD database is too slow and complex to be used consistently within the business. While the
Pivotal database is useful in sales prospecting, its usage in synchronisation with the OMD
database is difficult. While other simpler CRM tools were developed as a part of the efforts taken
by the business, they are too technical in nature and costly to implement. Hence, the company is
in requirement of a tool which not only meets its budgetary limitations but also benefits the
business as a whole on a consistent basis. Some of the areas in which the new Integrated System
implemented by the business needs to succeed include data migration, network support,
customised development and technical development.
Required changes within the organisation
The most crucial part involved in the implementation of a new information system in the
business is to select the most appropriate strategy for the business. Generally, there are two
strategies available for the implementation of a CRP or ERM project. These are called Phasing
and Simultaneous introduction (Stojkić, Veža and Bošnjak 2016). While phasing involves the
division of a large task or processes into phases, simultaneous introduction involves the direct
introduction of the product within the business as a whole. However, the success of these
strategies also depends on the type of programme solution, project contractor and the company
which is introducing the IS. Sufficient research needs to be undertaken to link both the business
strategy and the IT strategy of the business in the long run. Some of the challenges which are
faced by the businesses due to the change management implemented by the businesses include

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organisational strategy, structure and culture of the organisation (Tomić and Jovanović 2016).
The organisation and the ERP system need to be made compatible with each other for the
successful implementation of them in the entity. The strategy in the implementation of the
system is also dependent on the strategy of the organisation. If the entity’s strategy is intended to
be ambitious and aggressive, then it becomes essential for the business to unify and implement
the ERP system (Ranjan, Jha and Pal 2016). As the business is looking to bring about a change in
the organisation as a whole, it is essential that it implements the ERP system as a whole
throughout the business and actively tries to push the benefits of the system.
The major benefit of having the required IT infrastructure is that it allows for the business
to appropriately implement the new technology without any unnecessary hassle for the business.
This includes the building of business flexibility which allows for current and future changes. It
also involves the reduction of IT costs by reducing the implementation of a wide range of
database models. A single ERP model and the infrastructure required to store and retrieve the
data on demand should be given priority. Some of the infrastructure which the entity needs to
develop in the current scenario include the buildings, workspace and associated utilities
necessary to develop it. The hardware and software equipment which needs to be considered to
develop the facility also needs to be taken care of by the business (Pohludka, Stverkova and
Ślusarczyk 2018). Additional supporting services required to make the ERP implementation
more successful include transport, communication and information systems. A plan for the
emergency situations also needs to be undertaken by the business to ensure that there are no
negative impacts of the failure of the system in the long run. The reduction in the IT
infrastructure can be undertaken by the business include the elimination of the redundant

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databases which are responsible for increased expenditure by the business. The unnecessary
expenditures involved in data extraction and duplication can be avoided.
Some of the changes in the systems which can be brought about by the entity include the
elimination of the OMD system because of its limited nature. This Integrated System is only
useful for customised business like that of the copier. However, as the entity is looking to move
forward and become more comprehensive, there is a need to bring in a more comprehensive ERP
package like Microsoft Dynamics ERP or IQMS (Wachnik 2017). These help in the business in
achieving its goal of regaining its competitive advantage while also ensuring that it remains
prepared towards the uncertainties being faced by it in the future.
Conclusion
Based on the above discussion, it can be suggested that the business of Bandon Group
was highly successful for a certain point of time. After which, the implementation of the OMD
system as its integrated database system proved to be initially successful. However, the lack of
progress with the change in time resulted in the entity being unable to compete with other entities
in the long run. The main problems faced by the entity include the lack of synchronisation
between various systems implemented by it as a part of the business. These include data
migration, communication between various entities and the ability to integrate the operations of
the business as a whole. In order to overcome these limitations, the business needs to make some
infrastructure, strategy and systems based changes. It needs to employ an ERP system more
aggressively throughout the organisation as a whole. This will be essential in overcoming the
limitations and regaining the competitive advantage of the business.

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References
Corporation, O. (2020). OMD Software. [online] Omdcorp.com. Available at:
http://www.omdcorp.com/vision/visionmain.htm [Accessed 17 Mar. 2020].
Harrington, J.L., 2016. Relational database design and implementation. Morgan Kaufmann.
Heinz, C., Cammert, M., Krämer, J., Schäfer, D. and Riemenschneider, T., Software AG,
2019. Complex event processing (CEP) based system for handling performance issues of a CEP
system and corresponding method. U.S. Patent 10,229,162.
Pohludka, M., Stverkova, H. and Ślusarczyk, B., 2018. Implementation and unification of the
ERP system in a global company as a strategic decision for sustainable
entrepreneurship. Sustainability, 10(8), p.2916.
Ranjan, S., Jha, V.K. and Pal, P., 2016. Literature review on ERP implementation
challenges. International Journal of Business Information Systems, 21(3), pp.388-402.
Rouhani, S. and Mehri, M., 2016. Does ERP have benefits on the business intelligence
readiness? An empirical study. International Journal of Information Systems and Change
Management, 8(2), pp.81-105.
Sedano, T., Ralph, P. and Péraire, C., 2017, May. Software development waste. In 2017
IEEE/ACM 39th International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE) (pp. 130-140). IEEE.
Stojkić, Ž., Veža, I. and Bošnjak, I., 2016, January. Concept of information system
implementation (CRM and ERP) within Industry 4.0. In 26th DAAAM International Symposium
on Intelligent Manufacturing and Automation.

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Tomić, Ž. and Jovanović, M., 2016. ERP and CRM data integration. Management: Journal of
Sustainable Business and Management Solutions in Emerging Economies, 21(78), pp.63-72.
Wachnik, B., 2017. An analysis of ERP and CRM system implementations in Poland between
2013 and 2016. Journal of Economics & Management, 27, pp.134-149.