SBM4202 Unit Project: IS Strategy of an Australian Business

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Information Systems (IS) strategy of Telstra, a leading telecommunications company in Australia. The report begins with an executive summary outlining the objectives and structure, followed by a company description, including its products and services. It then delves into the evolution of Telstra's IS/IT strategy, highlighting the strategic planning framework for implementing a new IS. The report addresses major challenges faced during IS implementation, including environmental, organizational, and humanistic factors. It also examines the recent scenario of IT within Telstra, comparing its approach to other organizations and discussing the role of IT in the contemporary business environment. Furthermore, the report explores IS management for controlling the organizational system and the execution of the IT strategy, concluding with a justification for the chosen IS strategy and a comprehensive conclusion. References and an appendix are also included to support the analysis.

Running head: INFORMATION SYSTEMS STRATEGY OF AN AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS
Information Systems strategy of an Australian business
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note:

INFORMATION SYSTEMS STRATEGY OF AN AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS 1
Executive Summary
The foremost objective of the paper is to focus on the incorporation of a new Information System
in Australian business. The paper will justify the need for the new Information System in the
concluding section of the paper. The paper will have numerous segments and each of the section
will be very much important to understand the impact of the new Information System on the
business. The paper will be providing a description of the products offered by the organization
along with the evolution of the IT strategy. The major challenges which can be faced by the
organization as they implement a new IS will be described in the paper as well. The paper will
also highlight the role of the new IS in the contemporary business environment of the
organization. The need for managing the IT strategies of the business will be analyzed and
discussed in this paper. The execution of the IT strategy will be also considered as an important
chapter for this paper.

2INFORMATION SYSTEMS STRATEGY OF AN AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Company description.......................................................................................................................3
Products of the organization............................................................................................................4
Evolution of IS/IT strategy..............................................................................................................4
IT strategy for the implementation of the IS in Telstra...............................................................5
Major challenges facing business....................................................................................................6
Recent scenario of IS/IT for organization.......................................................................................7
Comparison with other organizations..........................................................................................8
Role of IT in contemporary environment........................................................................................9
Management IS for managing and controlling organization system.........................................10
Execution of IT strategy................................................................................................................11
Justification....................................................................................................................................13
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................13
Reference.......................................................................................................................................15
Appendix........................................................................................................................................18

3INFORMATION SYSTEMS STRATEGY OF AN AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS
Introduction
The notable determination of the paper is to focus on the incorporation of the Strategic
Information System in Telstra which is the biggest telecommunication organization in Australia.
The reason behind the incorporation of the strategic information in Telstra will be examined
throughout the paper. The products and service offered by this business organization to their
clients will was improved after the incorporation of the Information System will be presented in
the paper as well. The evolution of the IT strategy needed for managing the Strategic Information
System in Telstra will be also discussed in the paper as well. The challenges faced by this
telecommunication organization which was mitigated after the use of the Strategic Information
System will be also discussed in the paper as well (Noe et al. 2017). The recent scenario
regarding the use of the Strategic Information System in Telstra considering their present market
reputation will be discussed in the paper as well. The paper will be very much helpful for the
readers of this document to understand the role of Strategic Information System in contemporary
environments such as Telstra. The role of the Strategic Information System in controlling and
managing the entire organizational system in Telstra will be described in this paper in an
organized manner. The execution of the IT strategy which can be adopted by Telstra while
incorporating the Strategic Information System will be presented in the paper as well (Pearlson,
Saunders and Galletta 2016). The description of the company, as well as the products offered by
this corporation to its consumers over the years, will be discussed in the ensuing unit of the
paper.

4INFORMATION SYSTEMS STRATEGY OF AN AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS
Company description
Telstra is the largest telecommunication organization in Australia providing a wide range
of products to each of their consumers living different parts of the world (Telstra.com.au. 2019).
The market revenue of this telecommunication organization is $26 billion AUD whereas the net
operating income in the year 2017 is $6.2 billion AUD. The valuation of the total asset of Telstra
is $42.1 billion AUD in the year 2017 and the total equity of this organization is $14.6 billion
AUD.
Products of the organization
Established in the year 1975, this business organization have different types of product
such as tele-communication network, markets voice, mobile pay television, internet access, pay
television and other tele-communication services (Mignerat and Rivard 2015). The evolution of
IT innovations such as the Strategic Information System over the years will be discussed in the
next segment of the paper.
Evolution of IT strategy
This organization have different types of stakeholders associated with their working
environment and the organizations creates new plans for each of the stakeholders so that the
organizational target of being the largest telecommunication organization of the world is
accomplished (Pearlson, Saunders and Galletta 2016). Strategies are created for each of the 150
subsidiary organizations by the strategic team of the organization.
At the same time, it can be said that the different types of corporate strategy and business
strategy which are adopted by this organization as it helps them to have a competitive advantage
over the other telecommunications organizations of Australia. These strategies are generally

5INFORMATION SYSTEMS STRATEGY OF AN AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS
created by the strategic managers of the organizations keeping in mind with the strategies
adopted by the rival organizations such as Vodafone (Pratono 2016). These strategies sometimes
have lots of complexities associated with it as the needs and requirements of the consumers of
this organization are always changing with time. The evolution of the IT strategies in Telstra has
changed over the years as new Information System are always getting introduced in their
working environment.
The incorporation of the Strategic Information System will require a professional IT
strategy which will be discussed in this part of the paper as this strategy is completely different
from the strategies which were adopted for the other innovations (Laudon and Laudon 2016).
Timelines and resources available in the organization are the two important parameters regarding
the implementation of the IT strategy for the Strategic Information System in the working
environment of Telstra. The resulting unit of the paper will be discussing the IR strategy which
can be selected by Telstra regarding the implementation of the Strategic Information System in
the working environment of Telstra.
IT strategy for the implementation of the IS in Telstra
This unit of the paper can be very much important to understand the IT strategy required
for the new Strategic Information System in Telstra.
IT Strategic planning framework for the Strategic Information System in Telstra
Vision and
values
Improve the efficiency and productivity of the organization such as the other
global tele-communication organizations such as Vodafone
Strategic
goals
Enhance business reach by creating new business and corporate strategies.
Strategic
initiatives
Promote organizational assets as well as the different resources of this
organization.
Progress
indicators
Enhanced business sales, better employee turnover for the corporation, lower
the extra overhead cost associated with the sale of a particular product offered

6INFORMATION SYSTEMS STRATEGY OF AN AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS
by this organization.
Table 1: Strategic planning regarding the implementation of a new IS in Telstra
(Source: Created by the author)
The succeeding unit of the paper will be presenting the IT strategy which will be required
for the implementation of the new IS in Telstra.
Phase Explanation
Phase 1 The initial phase regarding the
implementation of the new Strategic
Information System will be considering only
the Australian offices of Telstra. The Telstra
offices in each of the provinces will be
considered regarding the installation of the
Strategic Information System. Strategies will
be created based on the needs and
requirements of the Australians and following
the governmental regulations of Australia
(Prescott 2016). A specific time period can be
set for analyzing the performance of the new
IS. Documented reports can be very much
beneficial for the IT experts to look after the
flaws of the new system.
Phase 2 This phase will be considering all the
countries which get the service of this tele-
communication organization. The
effectiveness of the implementation plan will
depend entirely on the phase 1.
Phase 3 The final implementation phase will be the
maintenance phase where the IT experts of
this organization will look after the
maintenance works associated with the issues
of the new IS.
Table 2: Implementation phase for Strategic Information System
(Source: Created by the author)

7INFORMATION SYSTEMS STRATEGY OF AN AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS
Major challenges facing business
This unit of the paper will be discussing the challenges faced by Telstra while
incorporating the new Information System.
Factors Explanation
Environmental factors The lack of IT infrastructure in the remote
areas of Australia and Asia is one of the
significant challenges which will be faced by
this organization as they install a new IS in
their working environment (Sarif et al. 2018).
The lack of a suitable consultant due to
adverse weather conditions is also a challenge
for Telstra. The lack of suitable use of mass
media is the other environmental challenge
for Telstra.
Organizational factors The collaboration of the floor managers,
general managers, operational managers, team
leaders and the staff in each of the branches of
Telstra are very much important regarding the
installation of the Strategic Information
System. The lack of complexity and
consistency among the strategic managers is
the other significant threat of this organization
regarding the implementation of the new IS
(DeLone & McLean 2016). At the same time,
it can be said that the lack of IT experts is also
a concern in this scenario. Inadequate
technical knowledge of the users of this IS is
a huge challenge for this organization.
Humanistic factors Lack of information among the managers is a
problem regarding the incorporation of the
new Strategic Information System. The
system design of the new IS should be very
much user-friendly in nature so that there are
very less issues while the system is being
used.
Table 3: Implementation phase for Strategic Information System
(Source: Created by the author)

8INFORMATION SYSTEMS STRATEGY OF AN AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS
The ensuing section of the paper will be presenting the recent scenario of Telstra
regarding the use of the IT innovations in Telstra.
Recent scenario of IT for the organization
The management team of Telstra invests hugely on the IT infrastructure of this
organization across each of their branches and offices of Telstra both in Australia as well as in
the other parts of the world (Jia, Guo and Barnes 2017). The older infrastructure of the IT
systems and legacy systems are readily being replaced these days with advanced systems and
technologies. The Telco analysts are predicting that the growth of this organization will get
doubled with in the next two years. The organization are attracting investors from both North
American and Europe which is an added advantage for Telstra (de Jonge 2017). There are
separate infrastructure investors for Telstra which makes them easier to invest in other industries
also such as the cloud computing industry, which can indirectly be very much beneficial
regarding the implementation of the new IS. Telstra is investing hugely in optimizing their IT
infrastructures in order to reach the global telecommunication market. The workforce strategies
of this organization are frequently revised by the operational managers of each of the offices.
The incorporation of the new technologies in the working environment of Telstra is done
in such a way so that sustainable development is accomplished in the business (Intezari and
Gressel 2017). The community and the economic life of the stakeholders of this
telecommunication have increased over the years. The following unit of the paper will be
comparing the recent scenario of Telstra with the other reputed business environments of
Australia.

9INFORMATION SYSTEMS STRATEGY OF AN AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS
Comparison with other organizations
Lots of global business organization in the Australian environment such as PwC,
Common Wealth bank, KPMG Australia, Deloitte Australia, CIMIC group have incorporated
strategic information in their IT environment in order to create and implement better business
strategies which will allow them to increase the net profitability of the business (Handoko,
Aryanto and So 2015). The corporate profitability of these business corporations improved after
the use of the Strategic Information System. The technological capabilities of these organizations
have been also improved with the help of the Strategic Information System. The consequent
section of the paper will be describing the role of the Strategic Information System to address the
issues of the contemporary environment of Telstra.
Role of IT in contemporary environment
According to Chiang et al. (2018), there are lots of issues faced by Telstra in terms of
their existing IT infrastructure such as the lack of technical IT experts who knows the insights of
the IT innovations such as the Strategic Information System. The researcher of the paper stated
that the persistency of Telstra in terms of the competitive advantage of Telstra can be very much
important to improve the business functions of Telstra.
The researcher mentioned that the role of the strategic management system can be very
much important for Telstra so that they can manage the internal stakeholders of the organization
such as the employees, IT exerts, managers as well as the external stakeholders such as the
employees of the subsidiary organizations, provides of the raw materials and the different types
of service providers of Telstra (Chen et al. 2017). The researcher also stated that the role of each
component of the strategic management system such as the input, output, process, feedback and
control are very much essential to deal with the complexities of the telecommunication industry

10INFORMATION SYSTEMS STRATEGY OF AN AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS
such as the changing rates of the internet packages, television pay and data plans. According to
the researcher, the management of the business data across the private network of this
organization are needed to be done in an organized manner (Shannak and Obeidat 2016).
According to the researcher, the critical components of the Strategic Information System are very
much important to deal with the complexities of environmental concerns.
The incorporation of the Strategic Information System can be very much important for
Telstra to have a competitive advantage over the other telecommunication organizations of
Australia such as Vodafone (Cassidy 2016). The business dynamic world of Telstra can be also
improved with the help of the Strategic Information System. The global issues of this business
organization can be also addressed with the help of this Information System. The social goals of
the organization as such as conflict management can be also addressed with the help of this
Strategic Information System as this organization have consumers and internal stakeholders from
different cultures and lifestyle (Bryson 2017). The needs and requirements of the consumers of
each of the countries are different from each other, and the Strategic Information System can
play a huge role in revising the rate of the services offered by this organization. The following
unit of the paper will be presenting the role of the Strategic Information System which will be
very much beneficial for Telstra to manage and control their important business functions such
as the Human Resource department, IT laboratories and Accounts and Finance department.
Management IS for managing and controlling organization system
The Strategic Information System can be very much important to manage each of the
business functions of Telstra. All the available resources of this telecommunication organization
can be managed in a professional manner with the help of this Information System (Wu, Straub.
and Liang 2015). The incorporation of the Strategic Information System will not only help

11INFORMATION SYSTEMS STRATEGY OF AN AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS
Telstra to create and implement new business and corporate strategies but will also help this
organization to deal with the complaints coming from the consumers of this organization (Ansoff
et al. 2019). The bargaining power of the supplier of this organization can be also managed with
the help of the Strategic Information System. The decision making ability of the management
team of this telecommunication corporation can be also managed with the help of this IS. The
finances and the inventories of Telstra can be also revised with the help of the Strategic
Information System. The strategic objectives of the organization. The implementation of new
technology or new concept in Telstra used to face huge difficulties in terms of the resistance to
change, this problem can be addressed with the help of the new IS (Altaf and Khalil 2016). The
Strategic Information System can be very much useful to manage the other technologies or
concepts which are used in the working environment in Telstra such as the Transaction
Processing Systems and Decision Support System. The ensuing unit of the paper will be
discussing the execution of the Strategic Information System in Telstra.
Execution of IT strategy
The strategy which can be incorporated by the management team of Telstra regarding the
application of the Strategic Information System in their working environment are presented in
the following table.
Steps Strategy Explanation
Step
01
Visualization
of the
strategy
The implementation strategy of the Strategic Information System
must be done in a professional manner so that it does not have any
compatibility issues with the existing legacy system which are used
in this organization over the years. The alignment of the business