HC1041 IT for Business: POS System Impact Analysis Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of a POS (Point of Sale) system's impact on a small business, specifically the Four Seasons Greenhouse and Nursery. It begins with an executive summary outlining the key issues, including the advantages and disadvantages of the new POS system, its role in gaining a competitive edge, the benefits of a centralized database, and how it facilitates decision-making. The report details how the POS system improves inventory management, provides accurate transaction data, enhances employee management, and increases efficiency. It also acknowledges the disadvantages, such as added costs and security risks. Furthermore, the report explores how the POS system can provide a competitive advantage through improved customer service, data-driven pricing strategies, and streamlined operations. It highlights the advantages of a centralized database in terms of data preservation, cost reduction, enhanced security, and reliability. The report also discusses how the POS system facilitates decision-making by providing real-time data for informed choices on pricing, product selection, and workforce management. It also recommends telecommunication options, such as WAN and wireless technologies, to support the POS system. Finally, the report addresses the security, privacy, and confidentiality risks associated with POS systems, emphasizing the importance of preventative measures to protect data and maintain system integrity.

Running head: IT for Business 1
I.T for Business
Student’s Name
Institution

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Executive Summary
The Four Seasons Greenhouse and Nursery is a small business that has changed the way it does
business. A new POS system has been adopted by the business to maintain its inventory as well
as managing the inventory. This report has been used to highlight some issues that the business is
facing while using the new system in its operations. It looks at the benefits and challenges behind
the implementation of the system, and the merits of a centralized database. The other issue
covers the forms of telecommunication that will be used while adopting the system. It also
looks at how the system will affect decision making at the business and how the business
benefits competitively over other businesses. Lastly, it covers the type of risks associated with
this system.
Table of Contents

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Executive Summary...............................................................................................................................2
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................4
1. Advantages and Disadvantages of POS systems..........................................................................4
Advantages..........................................................................................................................................4
Disadvantages......................................................................................................................................5
2. How to gain a competitive advantage using the POS system......................................................5
3. Advantages of using a centralized database.................................................................................6
4. How POS system facilitates decision making...............................................................................7
5. Telecommunication options for the POS system.........................................................................8
6. Risks posed by the POS systems...................................................................................................9
Security................................................................................................................................................9
Privacy...............................................................................................................................................10
Confidentiality...................................................................................................................................10
Conclusion............................................................................................................................................10
References............................................................................................................................................11
Introduction

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Technology in business is an important factor. A business that incorporates technology
reaps more benefits, moreover, they have a competitive edge over their rival businesses.
Small businesses have grown tremendously due to the fact that technology have brought
in new feature that simplify the way things are done. They gain flexibility, processes are
accurate thus leading to efficiency.
1. Advantages and Disadvantages of POS systems
Advantages
 A POS system has helped the business with greater accuracy on inventory data. This has
in turn led to greater decision making where by the management of the business will not
do guess work anymore. It has been noticed that the business can now have detailed
reports on transactions done such as how much was purchased, sold or discarded.
 The POS system has helped the business to have more accurate data from transaction
than when it was using cash registers. Information is automatically updated to the
databases in real-time thereby eliminating the risk of human errors. Details dealing with
transactions such as purchase, sales are reported in detailed format which helps the
management to make crucial decisions.
 The systems also takes part in the managements of the employees at the business. It helps
to reduce the time spent on schedules and schedule enforcement. It can allocate and
perform reviews to specific functions and departments. Owner can therefore delegate
more responsibility to the staff so as to establish accountability.
 The systems increases efficiency. This is because the system has given the staff all the
tools to work on. For example, a barcode scanner will automatically collect information

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about products and relay it to the computers. In the old systems, the staff had to do all this
work manually and there was high risk that it could be done wrongly (Pearlson, Saunders
& Galletta, 2016).
Disadvantages.
 Added costs to access the web is one of the disadvantages. For the POS to function, it
must be connected to a network. This means that for the system to be online, it must have
an access to the internet and the registers. This doesn’t come free. The business must
incur monthly fee to the internet service provider.
 Security issues are other risks that the business may encounter while using a POS system.
Having a web-based system means that you may encounter privacy and security risks at
any time. Even though POS providers offer a significant security protection, they can’t
negate the fact that the system may be exposed to a certain level of danger (Cheney,
2003).
2. How to gain a competitive advantage using the POS system
Competitive advantage is a circumstance whereby a business, company or organization is in a
favorable condition that the others (Porter, 2011). Having a competitive advantage more than
your competitor’s means that you may have integrated technology with the business in order to
boost your services to the customers. This technology may be in form of using applications such
as the ERP, HRMS and others. Having a POS system will offer competitive advantage in the
following ways:

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 By the use of POS, customers of the Four Seasons Greenhouse and Nursery will be able
to access information on what the business entails as well as that of the Point Of Sale
System. The business can advertise their products through the POS system thereby
attracting more customers than their rival businesses.
 It helps the management know which products are profitable than the others. This will
help in the pricing of products such that they will remain within acceptable product
margins. Customers will settle at the businesses since it offers standardized prices to its
products than to those businesses that hike their prices to products.
 Digitalizing operations by using POS systems will ease long waits and frustrations of
checkout lines. Customers are happy while using mobile payments and give the staff an
opportunity to connect with them. This will improve customer experience and deepen
loyalty (Skard & Nysveen, 2016).
3. Advantages of using a centralized database
POS systems gathers important information from daily operations in the business. Data
obtained from sales and purchases must be stored properly since it is used to make
important decisions of the business. Therefore a centralized database will have the
following benefits:
 It improves data preservation. In case of a disastrous hardware failure, the
database offers a redundant storage that keeps data more secure. Data loss means
that the business will incur more costs.
 Centralized databases reduces cost. Maintaining a central server will incur less
cost than maintenance on multiple computers. It also helps to minimize the

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overall space requirements for data storage and processing (Coronel & Morris,
2016)
 When the business uses a centralized database, data security will be improved. A
centralized database storage creates lesser challenges that ensuring data security
across multiple local storage sites (Grachev, Esin, Polukhina, & Rassomakhin,
2014).
 Centralized storage are more reliable than local storage. The business will boast
comprehensive data access from anywhere. Updates run through a centralized
database will be seen by all end users as opposed to a local storage where updates
will be viewed by users who used that computer only.
4. How POS system facilitates decision making
First of all, the POS system will process business activities more effectively because of
the speed at which it processes information. The POS system can process thousands of
the business transactions faster thereby eliminating any delay that could result customers
waiting. It also provides reliable and quick check-out processes, help boost up the profits
and maintain detailed sales and inventory reports. Lastly the POS system can handle
more than one payment options. Customers may opt to use debit and credit cards
payments.
Information tracked by the POS system cannot be manually tracked. In the Four Seasons
Greenhouse and Nursery, it can be seen that managers can use the system to locate those
products that contributed to more profits and those that contributed less. This wasn’t the
case before they implemented the system into their business. This shows that there are

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some of the information that the system can capture about relevant information about
products that cannot be visible to the managers.
Information obtained by the POS system can be used for various uses in the case of Four
Seasons Greenhouse and Nursery. First, it can be used to set prices to products such that
they remain within the acceptable product margins. It can also be used to know which
products are more profitable than the others and therefore make wise decision to shift
those products that brought high profits. It can also be used on how to manage workforce
at the business. Managers can decide whether to add workforce or lay down workers
based on how they are performing their duties (Wu, Straub, & Liang, 2015).
Several questions can be answered easily following from information obtained from the
POS system:
i. Whether to reduce or decrease price for products?
ii. Which products are more profitable?
iii. Gross profits obtained from sales of products in a year?
5. Telecommunication options for the POS system.
Telecommunication is very important to any business. It is used to communicate with
customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. For a business to be successful it must
implement clear and working and networking channels (Carr & Snyder, 2003). There are
different types of networks that can be used in any business; examples can include Local
Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network(WAN), Metropolitan Area Network(MAN),
Wide Local Area Network(WLAN) to mention a few (Axelsson & Easton, 2016).

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In Four Seasons Greenhouse and Nursery, the most likely type of network to be used is
the Wide Area Network (WAN). This is because it offers a much wider range that MAN
and LAN networks. It also offers a platform whereby the business can connect their cash
registers in order to track sales in real time.
Wireless technologies such as the use of WI-FI will best suit the operations of the
business. It can be used by devices such as laptops, hand-held devices such as
smartphones and printers which are connected to a router. These technologies; increase
the efficiency in which there is a fast transfer of data and information between customers,
patners and the business. It also increases availability in that staff don’t have to always sit
behind dedicated computers. They can have the freedom of working from wherever they
want and still have wireless access to data. Costs incurred in setting up wired networks
will be high and will also reduce space at the business (Cavallari, Martelli, Rosini,
Buratti, & Verdone, 2014).
6. Risks posed by the POS systems
Security
Using the POS system can lead to the following security issues:
 Software and network weaknesses – these problems occur mostly when the network is
not secure. Hackers with evil intentions can penetrate through the network and may even
flood the network with request or even slow down the service making operations
ineffective. Crucial data, too, is subject to theft or manipulation.
To prevent this, the system should be kept on its own, and secure network. It’s also
important to keep it up-to-date to with the most current security measures.

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 Cyber- crime – it is a more malicious and sophisticated problems that comes along with
technology. The business should take preventive measures so as to keep the system
secure (Moore, 2014).
 Faults in devices might also occur.
Privacy
Personal data, such as email passwords, bank accounts numbers, and credit and debit card
numbers can be stolen in a case where attackers have taken control of a POS system. It is
therefore crucial that customers should not disclose any information to any one as this
information can be used for malicious activities such as fraud.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is the state of whereby confidential information is not disclosed to unauthorized
entities, individual or processes (Singh, 2015). POS systems should not allow any unauthorized
access to unauthorized individual. Spoofing, active wiretapping, use of ping are the type of
attacks that can be used to violate the confidentiality of information (Zeng, & Zhang, 2016). The
business should therefore put a fire wall in place to filter all content being transmitted in and out
of the network.
Conclusion
In conclusion, POS system has the capability of making Four Seasons Greenhouse and Nursery
grow as well as compete favorably with other businesses. It has noted that there are many benefits

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that come along with automating processes at the business. Though technology comes along with its
share of risk, it worth incorporating technology in businesses.

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References
Axelsson, B., & Easton, G. (2016). Industrial Networks (Routledge Revivals): A New View of
Reality. Routledge.
Carr, H. & Snyder, C. (2003). The management of telecommunications : business solutions to
business problems enabled by voice and data commumnications. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Cavallari, R., Martelli, F., Rosini, R., Buratti, C., & Verdone, R. (2014). A survey on wireless
body area networks: Technologies and design challenges. IEEE Communications Surveys
& Tutorials, 16(3), 1635-1657.
Cheney, V. (2003). Castration : the advantages and the disadvantages. Bloomington, Ind:
1stBooks.
Coronel, C., & Morris, S. (2016). Database systems: design, implementation, & management.
Cengage Learning.
Grachev, V. M., Esin, V. I., Polukhina, N. G., & Rassomakhin, S. G. (2014). Data security
mechanisms implemented in the database with universal model. Bulletin of the Lebedev
Physics Institute, 41(5), 123-126.
Moore, R. (2014). Cybercrime: Investigating high-technology computer crime. Routledge.
Pearlson, K. E., Saunders, C. S., & Galletta, D. F. (2016). Managing and Using Information
Systems, Binder Ready Version: A Strategic Approach. John Wiley & Sons.
Porter, M. E. (2011). Competitive advantage of nations: creating and sustaining superior