IT Strategies Report: IT Solutions and Business Development

This report delves into the realm of IT strategies, emphasizing the crucial role of innovation in bolstering organizational development and sustainability within a dynamic business environment. It begins by establishing the significance of IT as a catalyst for collaboration across functional departments and explores various IT solutions, such as ERP, to enhance operational efficiency. The report then examines innovation management with IT, presenting case studies of Amazon and DHL to illustrate the practical application and benefits of IT strategies. It further discusses key IT strategies including clouding, open source, and CRM-centric solutions, highlighting their impact on product and service development. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of aligning IT strategies with organizational goals and identifying the nature of IT services needed for optimal business outcomes, ultimately advocating for the effective integration of IT to achieve corporate governance and sustained operational success.

Running head: IT STRATEGIES
IT Strategies
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Notes:

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Background................................................................................................................................2
Innovation management with IT................................................................................................4
Amazon case..........................................................................................................................4
DHL case................................................................................................................................5
IT strategies................................................................................................................................7
Clouding.............................................................................................................................9
Open Source.......................................................................................................................9
CRM centric IT solutions.................................................................................................10
Artificial Intelligence.......................................................................................................10
Conclusion................................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................12

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Introduction
Innovation has been recognised as an aspect that can effectively bolster the activities
associated to an organisation in terms of development. In the dynamic business environment,
businesses look for useful techniques and measures by using which they can be subject to
sustainability in the long-run (Solow 2014). Innovation is an aspect that ensures the
organisation is reinventing activities in such a way that their overall outcome that the
organisation is subject to helps the organisation in gaining sustainability while it operates in
the dynamic business environment. Companies that are product or service oriented have to
ensure that they incorporate a certain amount of strategic innovation in their activities. The
scope of operations of companies differ. Some companies are R&D based while others are
product centric and much more. IT is an aspect of organisational operations that determines
three degree to which the activities carried out by a company are linked to the IT
competencies (Schwalbe 2015). The current paper deals with the strategies in IT that
organisations need to incorporate into operations do that the organisation is short to bolster
their competency in terms of product and service development.
Background
IT or information technology is a concept in which there is effective use of
Technology and computer peripherals in operations (Alter 2015). IT revolves around the
concept of innovative technological competence of individuals and organisations. In
organisations it is the role of these IT to act as a catalyst between all the functional
departments. IT acts as a common medium through which various departments within an
organisation collaborate with each other. Companies can either have Specialised IT divisions
in their companies and in various occasions companies even hire the IT services, in the form
of IT outsourcing (Williams, Williams Jr and Omar 2014). IT outsourcing is an option that is

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capitalised on by companies that are new or small in stature. IT allows organisations to have
the edge in markets that'd are competitive and in certain occasions it helps companies to
sustain the regular nature of operations. IT solutions can be used for even performing
operations in various functional divisions of the company (Zimmermann, Rentrop and Felden
2014). The latter can be used as a handy tool in that cater to a specific activity from the past
of an organisation. Regardless of the nature of operations of a company and regardless off the
industry that the company operates in, IT solutions are needed by companies who aim to gain
sustainability in operations in the modern and dynamic business scenario (Höjer and Wangel
2015).
If the main operational activity of a company is to deal with products and services, it
can be joined that they choose an IT solution that can help in boosting the efficacy of the
company regarding all the motives of every functional division writing the company.
Improvisation on terms of IT and incorporation of the same with a specific functional
division can help that particular division on terms of operating effectively and in a smooth
way. Financial outsourcing of IT solutions can help businesses regardless of the stature, in
gaining favourable outcomes in terms of efficiency or productivity. ERP or Enterprise
Resource Planning is a type of software that can help boost collaboration and communication
between every functional department within an organisation (Leon 2014). The financial data,
operational expenses, marketing budget, logistic costs and others can be identified with the
help of the ERP software. The latter is an effective IT Solution that offers control and bolsters
communication between various functional wings of organisations. The nature of services
that are needed for the betterment of the company can be utilised with the help of IT solutions
such as ERP. The main competency that is associated with ERP is the availability of
information that it needed at a click (Seethamraju 2015). The latter is a solution that can
boost the efficacy of an organisation as a result of the smooth and efficient nature of the

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product. The following sections still discuss the advantages that are associated with the
effective use of IT solutions such as ERP asking with the implications associated with the
latter.
Innovation management with IT
Innovation is valued by organisations that are operating in highly competitive
environments (Smith, Fressoli and Thomas 2014). Innovation refers to competency of an
individual or a body through which the general nature of operations carried out in an
organisation and by an organisation are bolstered (Kaur and Bains 2013). Innovation has been
defined as the transition of an idea or discovery into a product or services that when offered
to a consumer helps them in gaining utility. Example; Innovation carried out by Apple Inc. by
pitching the first ever iPhone in the market. The aim of visionaries to challenge their process
through which they achieve effectiveness in operations through which they are able to
separate themselves from their contemporaries. Incorporating innovation just does not imply
that there is creation of an innovative product or service, it also impresses that the main
nature of operations is bolstered through innovation regarding the soft skills of the employers
and management of a company. This innovation or innovative practices are mediums through
which an organising boost is functional effectiveness. There were various cases throughout
history that can help in justifying the importance of Innovation in terms of operations of
companies operating in the product and service industry respectively. The cases that have
been chosen depict the role of IT innovation incorporated into operation by successful
companies such as Amazon and DHL.
Amazon case
There are companies that are completely based on IT innovations. Companies such as
Amazon have been able to incorporate IT into general nature of operations through which thy

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have been able to become over of the biggest MNCs operating currently. Amazon who were
then known as Relentless were a company that was product oriented. The main product that
was offered by the company back then was books (Ritala, Golnam and Wegmann 2014).
There company could have chosen to stick to carrying out business as other companies,
however the former had different plans. The company carried out expensive amount of
brainstorming to develop a technique through which they would be able to differentiate
themselves from the masses.
Figure: Employee Driven Innovation Process Model
(Source: O'Cass and Sok 2013)
Innovations helped the company in realising the latter. The company was able to
generate awareness in the market and reached maximum exposure with the help of an IT
based innovation. There company used online portals to sell their products. The online portal
that was used by these company helped in eliminating costs associated with storage and used
to power and reach of the internet to maximum effect. Soon the IT based portal was the
medium through which they reached the book lovers across the United States and the rest is
history. This proves the benefits that are associated with IT, identification of effective
strategies and effective implementation of the same through which competitive advantage is
achieved.

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DHL case
A different IT solution helped another renowned company in getting ahead of the
masses. DHL was a company associated with delivery of products. It was a company that
provides logistics related solutions (Mocker, Ross and Ciano 2014). The company could have
caused out operations as usual, however the affiliation of the company with innovation and
the will to gain success and to remain ahead of other companies in the same industry, resulted
in innovation and incorporation of IT.
Figure:
DHL Innovation Center
(Source: Dpdhl.com 2019)
The company had to carry out effective networking and innovation in terms of
technology and information interchange as a result of which they whether able to incorporate
a delivery tracking system. The latter was bolstered through an IT solution that was
characterised by extensive networking competency of the company with their IT wing and
the network in which the company operated. Innovation was incorporated in terms of
development of the competency of the organisation. It can be opined that there has been an
extensive role played by innovation from the part of the IT division of the organisation. By
incorporating innovation in their activities, the company ensured that the user of the services

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of the company where able to monitor the progress of their courier. Hence, this was an
additional service that was provided to the consumers as a result of which the latter has been
able to gain sustainability in operations. Hence, the role played by innovation in terms of IT
is evident in the said cases as a result of which it can be said that the companies operating in
the current business environment should abide by the same. The success of the companies
can be accredited to the relevance of the IT framework that has been incorporated by the
company has been responsible for the high degree of success that they have been subject to.
The companies laid down a trend that has been followed by various companies who operate
in similar industries.
IT strategies
An IT strategy refers to the strategies taken by companies in terms of incorporation of
information technology through which companies aim to gain effectiveness in operations in
terms of development of products and services. It can be said that an effective IT mechanism
should be incorporated into the operations of a company depending on the nature of needs
associated with the operations of a company. There should be proper needs and vision for the
company in the future that determines the IT strategies to be adopted. Incorporation of the
latter helps businesses cope with the aging or stagnant nature of operations. The aim of
companies is to carry out operations in such a nature that they are able to achieve corporate
governance and gain sustainability in operations while operating regardless of the industry
that they belong to. It should be the role of the management of organisations to identify the
needs of incorporation of IT framework (Dameri and Cocchia 2013). The following are steps
that need to be incorporated into planning for implementation of IT solution and for adopting
strategies regarding the same.

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1. Need identification: There might be different needs that associated to the general
operational activities that are carried out by organisation. IT might not be the solution that
is needed to be incorporated into the operations. There might be different needs.
Furthermore, it should be noted that the needs in different functional departments of the
company might be different as a result of which it is important to identify and analyse the
organisational needs before decision making regarding strategies to be adopted. The
management of organisation can gain understanding regarding the need for incorporation
of innovation with the help of focus groups, meeting and interviews aimed at the critical
evaluation of the same.
2. Identification of overall organisational goals and linking the same with IT: The
objectives of the organisation should be identified and established. After identification of
the same, the legal compliances of the same should be determined. This might lead to
need for updating in terms of the IT framework of the company, assessment of the
network structure of the company, identity management and comprehensive security
plans.
3. Identification of the nature of IT service needed: The nature of need of the company will
help in justifying the adoption of the IT strategy. There can be needs such as IT for
process improvement, Identification of new business-related opportunities, leveraging of
information across the internal and the external environment and other. As there might be
different needs associate to the operations of an organisation, identification of the nature
of service required helps in avoiding unnecessary expenses.
4. Prioritisation and allocation of budget: The array of alternatives that a business can
choose from in terms of IT solutions and strategies should be rated by the management of
organisations. The solutions that are deemed to be more likely to entertain favourable

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amount of returns should be prioritised by the company. Accordingly, the IT budget
should be allocated, justifying the stature of the need of the latter.
5. Evaluation or Monitoring: The strategizing does not end after the IT plan has been
successfully implemented. There should be effective evaluation if the IT plan or strategy
that has been adopted by the company. Through monitoring it is ensured that the IT
Strategy is being able to satiate the needs associated to implementation of the IT strategy
in the first place.
There are various types of IT strategies that can be adopted by companies looking to
gain sustainability in operations through the use of innovation in terms of development of
products and services (Arman 2014). Following are some strategies that can be adopted by
companies to boost the efficacy of innovative operations;
Clouding
At this age there are physical memory is expensive, furthermore, it can be opined that
files and folders made of cellulose are obsolete. Thus, to cope with such issues, companies
can adopt clouding technology that allows flexible storage. There are various companies that
offer It clouding options. By opting for clouding the organisations can store information in
cloud servers where there are no limits to storage and most importantly it does not take up
any space. Companies such as YouTube use cloud technology to full effectiveness as a result
of which the company has been able to become a hub for online videos.

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Fig: Cloud Computing
(Source: Fernando, Loke and Rahayu 2013)
Open Source
Open source is an operator which provides access to free software that is available
with the open source licences that allows the users to the source code of free software. Hence,
the company which is on the receiving end of the same is able to incorporate the same into
usage through which they can develop competencies in terms of development of IT solutions.
In the product and services industry, the latter service provider can be used in order to
develop competency in terms of catering to the neds of the customers by providing the latter
with flexibility in establishing connections with the company. The development of Mobile
applications and website portal are examples of usage of the same.
CRM centric IT solutions
There should be extensive brainstorming carried out from the part of companies who
aim to gain sustainability in operations through effective relationship development with
customer community. CRM solutions such as the CRM Dynamic software offered by

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Microsoft is an option that companies can stick to. The latter is a cost effective and easy to
incorporate IT solution that can be adopted by companies in order to gain favourable nature
of outcomes while operating in the market by offering services or products. CRM or the full
form of the axiom can help in justifying the importance of the solutions.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence or AI can be incorporated into the operational activities of
companies. The latter is a form of technology that learns from new encounters. Information is
stored in the clouding system and it does not need manual operators. AI is an innovative
solution to management of issues associated to the development of product and services. The
use of AI can take the load off human capital. It can be also said that the use of AI reduces
threats of injuries to human capital and boost the speed of the processes thus, bolstering
production. Example: Incorporation of AI with robot arms in manufacturing units of firms
helps in speeding up the time taken to cater to individual lines of product in production lines.
Conclusion
On a conclusion note, it can be said that innovation in terms of IT helps companies to
gain effectiveness in the general nature of operations. Companies such as Amazon, DHL and
various other have been able to gain success as a result of the same. There are various steps
that are needed to be followed in order to comply with the most effective IT strategies.
Furthermore, various options that is strategies are available that can be chosen from and that
should be determined by the need of the organisation as a whole.