The Role of Information Technology in HSBC Bank's Business Strategy

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Information Technology (IT) within HSBC Bank. It begins with an introduction to the bank, followed by a literature review exploring the role of IT in business, social and ethical issues, network types (LAN, MAN, WAN, PAN), internet and intranet usage, and the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). The analysis and discussion sections delve into IT's specific role in HSBC, addressing social issues like money laundering and misuse of IT by employees, and ethical concerns such as phishing and telecommunication issues. The report examines the networks used by HSBC, particularly the MAN, and discusses the advantages of these choices. The conclusion summarizes the key findings and the report references relevant academic sources. The document highlights the significance of IT in enhancing efficiency, security, and customer service within the banking environment, while also addressing the associated challenges and risks.

HSBC BANK

ABSTRACT
The study of information technology is conducted to find out the importance of it over
the business. The role of IT in saving cost and time is studied. How to resolve the ethical and
social issues are discussed. The best suited network as per the operation of the business is studied
and how a quality software which meet the demand of the customer is discussed.

Table of Contents
ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................4
Role of IT in business.................................................................................................................4
Social as well ethical isssues.......................................................................................................4
Networks and its types................................................................................................................5
Internet and intranet....................................................................................................................6
Software development life cycle.................................................................................................7
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION...................................................................................................7
Role of IT....................................................................................................................................7
Social as well ethical issues........................................................................................................8
Networks used in HSBC Bank....................................................................................................8
Internet and intranet....................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Information technology is the study of system in which the information is stored, retried
and then sent. HSBC is a multinational bank which is having its headquarter in UK. The bank
was founded in the year 1865. The founder of the bank was sir Thomas. In the study the topics
covered are the roles of information technology (Masa’deh. and et.al., 2018). Social and ethical
issues and different types of networks. The uses of internet and intranet is also discussed in detail
with the product development life cycle.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Role of IT in business.
As per the view of (Hall, 2018)T plays a major role in the development of any business
by performing task in effective manner. IT has helped in increasing the productivity of the
business by making the process of work much easily and faster. Information Technology plays a
major role in improving the communication of the business. Video chat, conferencing, emails etc
are the effective as well fast way of communication. A lot of cost and time can be saved using
programming, in which just the company have to enter the language and the computer will work
according to the language. Due to information technology the employees of the company can
work at the remote location and send the work completed by them on the link mentioned. Asset
light model is being encouraged due to this in which the employees can easily work at their
home and the same will result in saving cost of electricity and maintenance cost.
As per the author (Ali. and et.al., 2018)Employees cost is also saved due to this such as
fuel cost and time too. Managerial effectiveness in decision-making has also increased due to
information technology in which soft wares such as Management Information System has helped
the businesses to take appropriate decisions. Information technology has also helped the
customer by providing them option for the feedback in which they can share the experience of
the product. Sound customer service is available for the customers due to IT in which they are
provided quick response about any addition or subtraction in the product.
Social as well ethical isssues.
According to (Kakabadse. and Bank, 2018) There are various social as well as ethical
issues in information technology and the same are discussed in detail:
Social issues

Cat fishing is the social issue in which the person used to create a ID which is completely
fake and misuse that ID by bullying, romancing scam and seeking the attention. It is very
dangerous issue in which the personal information can be leaked of the individuals and the same
can be used for personal benefit.
Cyberstalking is another issue in which harassment is done to any particular group or
particular community in order to spread among the specified community. The same is resulting
in situation of riot among the employees which are of different community.
Misuse of learning, in which the same material is available for the other employees who
are working in other companies. This is resulting in sharing of strategies used by one company to
other company.
Ethical issues.
Copyrights is a big ethical issue in which the hackers can hack the website of the business
and the same can be used for copying the important information and misusing the same for the
personal benefit. If there is no copyright then legal action can not be taken against the hackers.
Phishing is another ethical issue in which attempt is made to steal sensitive information
such as username, password, details of credit card etc. by sending link by which is malicious and
also sometimes can not be detected by the hackers.
Accuracy of the information is a ethical issue in which if the information is not reliable
then the same can result in manipulation of the data.
Networks and its types.
As per the view of (Rahman, 2019)There are various types of networks and the same are
mentioned below:
LAN
Local Area Network is a network which covers only short distance of area which
basically includes building, school or home. LAN is used by small businesses and operated by
single organization.
MAN
Metro politician Area Network covers the area which is larger than LAN but smaller than
WAN. The area covered in MAN is generally city, village or town. The network in owned and
operated by large body such as private organization or government body.
WAN

Wide Area Network covers very large area which is spread across any particular
geographical location. WAN uses multiple LANs for the purpose of networking. WAN is bigger
then LAN as well as MAN.
PAN
Personal Area Network is a small network which is available in a single building and
covers very small area. Personal Area Network provides transmission of data in mobile phones,
computers. The interface of PAN can be used for the USB and it will lead to serving of internet
for small area.
Internet and intranet.
Internet
According to (Madon. and Krishna, 2018) internet uses variety of communication
protocols which are provides variety of information and communication facilities to the user of
the internet. Internet ts also known as net. Various types of networks are uses internet as per the
requirement of the users. Internet uses interconnected network which is used finding information
for the business which will help them to take business decisions. Communication can be done
using internet in which the content can be presented in more effective and efficient way in order
to give better understanding of training modules to the employees of the company.
Time effectiveness is a benefit of internet in which the information is available to the
employees when the need the know about the information. The information which is relevant is
shared by email due to which distraction of the employees is avoided.
Intranet
It is a network of computer in which the sharing of information which is corporate is
shared. The network is contrasted with the networks of the public. The internal as well as
external sources are used under the intranet. The intranet is restricted to the employees of the
organization, intranet is accessed by the suppliers, customers as well as other approved parties.
The tools used in the business are the project management tools, customer relationship
management tools, sales tools etc. Web metrics are used in the intranet in order to tract overall
activities of the organization.
There are various benefits of intranet such as workforce productivity in which the users
can access the information using the web browser which is restricted to the provisions of the
security. The information can be used anywhere at the workstation of the company. Intranet

allows the employees to complete the task and the job more fast and with confidence because
they are shared the right information.
Software development life cycle.
According to (Filipović, 2018) In order to design, develop, test and utilize high quality
software development life cycle is used. The software are designed in order to meet the
expectation of the customers. There are various stages in the SDLC:
Gathering and analysis, It is the first step in which information of the software is gathered and
then analysis of the information is done. What are the points which are required to be added and
what are the points which are required to be removed are discussed in detail in this step.
Designing, It is the step in which the product is designed. Coding is done after designign the
product, then testing of the product is done in which it is seen that the product is ready to lauch
or not. Deployment is the stage in which the product is launched and at last maintenance of the
product is done.
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Role of IT.
IT plays a very important role in HSBS bank by allowing to communicate the employee
of the bank by shared network in much cost effective way. IT helps HSBC Bank in making safe
transactions of the customers in which they can do transaction in safe mode (Harmening, 2018).
Information technology keeps the money safe and secure in which strong e wallet passwords are
generated with the code which is very difficult open. Information technology helps the
employees to perform activities such as creditors and debtors tracking in which what is the
amount due and what is the way the amount can be paid to the bank is mentioned.
The interest calculation is also automatically calculated using software in which what are
the additional charges in case the customer fails to pay the amount on maturity is also auto
calculated. Queries related to FD, Recurring Deposit, Mutual fund or any other queries can be
addressed of the customers using fast communication network of information technology. In
HSBC Bank operation work become fast and more effective due to programming in which if
there is any problem related to computer can be solved by IT professional. Basic activities such
as cash withdrawal and cash deposit is done using software such as Finnacle which make process
very each and instant cash deposit as well as withdrawal can be done.

Social as well ethical issues.
Social as well as ethical issues of HSBC Bank which are faced due to IT issues as
follows:
Social issues
The social issues faced by HSBC Bank are as follows:
Money laundering
Money laundering is a issue in which the defaulter makes multiple accounts and the same
are used for fraud activities which may involve activities related to terrorism (Tucker, 2018). If
IT is not strong of HSBC Bank then it can promote money laundering activities which will lead
to loss of money of innocent people.
Misuse of IT by Employees
IT involves misuse of the information in which the information can of the customer
related to the bank account and credit card can be shared by the employees of HSBC Bank. This
will lead to loss of the money of the customers.
Ethical issues
The ethical issues faced by HSBC Bank are as follows:
Phishing
In phishing sensitive information can be hacked by the hackers of the HSBC Bank in
which passwords of the customers can be hacked using websites which are not safe. The hacker
can ask for the one time password and if shared then the same can result in loss of money.
Telecommunication issue
If the communication is done not at a centralized network then the same can result in
sharing of information which is sensitive of HSBC Bank (Boateng, and et.al., 2018). If the
information is leaked then the competitors of HSBC Bank can take advantage of the information
and this will lead to loss of the company.
Networks used in HSBC Bank.
The networks used by the HSBC Bank are as follows:
MAN
As HSBC Bank is a large bank it uses the MAN network because the network is less
expensive and covers a large geographical area. High rate of security is there in MAN for the
employees and the data of the HSBC Bank. In which HSBC Bank can share data in much safe

and secure mode. The speed of MAN is very fast which allows the cashier to instantly deposit
the cash and customer to instantly withdraw the cash. Another advantage of selection of Man is it
can do easy conversation with LAN which allows the LAN to easily connect to a large network.
WAN
HSBC Bank has selected Wan because it covers large area of network in which whole
nation is covered (Slapper, 2018). The data of the bank account holders become centralized and
also the workload of the employees of the HSBC Bank is distributed and also the traveling
charges are reduced. Global business can also be done by HSBC Bank using WAN in which
international customers can be built in order to generate higher revenue.
Internet and intranet.
Internet
Internet is used in HSBC Bank for making banking online in which the customers are not
required to visit the bank, and they can do transactions at the comfort of their home. This will
save the cost of electricity and maintenance in the bank (Masa’deh. and et.al., 2018). Internet is
used for the effective and fast communication in which the processing time of the receiving of
payment is reduced in HSBC Bank. Using internet the transaction history of the customer can be
seen and the data can be used to pinch the customer having low investment in HSBC Bank.
Intranet
Intranet is used in HSBC Bank for improving internal communication in which the
advanced tools can be used by the employees to communicate with the other employees (Hall,
2018). As the HSBC Bank is an international bank intranet helps in connecting the company
across different location in different time zones. Intranet helps in Boosting the recognition as
well reward the employees as per the performance.
CONCLUSION
As per the study it is concluded that Information technology play a very important role in
the business by helping the business to save cost, increase productivity and profitability.
Information technology save time and saves money of the business which helps they HSBC
Bank to use that money and time in other productive activities which are beneficial for the
company. There are are various networks but the one which is best suited for the company must
be selected. There are also various ethical and social which can be addressed by taking
appropriate steps. Internet and intranet are equally important for HSBC Bank.

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