Modern Information Technology in Business and its Impacts (Case Study Sample)

Information Technology Strategy in Business
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Introduction
In the past two decades, the business environment has portrayed increased utilization of regular information technology development. Notably, the availability of information systems capable of providing vital information that would help in the maximization of returns has lured the business sector towards adaptation of modern technology (Smit & Dellemijn, 2011). The integration of such information systems (IS) with effective data platforms, business management systems, and organizational management systems has provided positive results in the performance of businesses. However, proper alignment of the major organization management strategies is necessary for the information systems put in place to provide sufficient and accurate data for strategic decision making. The management strategies consist of three areas, namely business strategy, organization strategy and information strategy, all which must be harmonized for the purpose of achieving maximum benefits.
IS/IT Strategic Alignment with Business
An information system strategy in a business is a system based on the information requirements of a company with the aim to assist in the achievement of the overall business objectives, and to achieve and maintain competitive advantage over the business rivals. The identification of computerized applications to realize the set goals of an organization is necessary during information system planning. The purpose of information system integration is for a business to make the information usable in decision making, thereby providing the business with competitive advantage over rival organizations (Issa-Salwe, Ahmed, Aloufi, & Kabir, 2010). Effective Information System integration requires proper planning and involvement of the management team for the system to provide solutions to complex problems. The managers are required to contribute towards the system development by providing the much needed information on what information is important during the system development planning.
Alignment may be defined as the positive relationship evidenced between IS and the acceptable financial performance measures. A strategic alignment model is one of the widely accepted models in business (Issa-Salwe, Ahmed, Aloufi, & Kabir, 2010). The multi-dimensional model identifies both internal and external dimensions necessary in an organization and provides ways on how they can be integrated with organizational strategies functionally. With the multidimensional model, the business strategy is interlinked with the information system, which must be located in the organizational structure to achieve the organization objectives (Smit & Dellemijn, 2011). When the IS placement is considered as an important part of the business strategy, it provides solutions to problems inside and outside the organization and thus provide the business with competitive advantage over the other firms. However, continuous alignment is necessary for the IS sustainable use. Acceptance of the IS by the managers changes their attitude positively since their work is made easier.
IS Alignment with Organization Structure
To achieve the best alignment, organizational managers must foresee the requirements of their organization to lay down the proper IS/IT infrastructure strategies that would accommodate future changes. During the alignment planning, both managers and the IT staff must come together and help each other in the two fields (Smit & Dellemijn, 2011). Due to the adverse changes in the organizational rules and procedures, old systems and hardware may not be able to support the new information system. In addition, the information system being implemented must provide adequate room to accommodate future changes and thus, new hardware must be considered during planning.
Aligning the information system with business strategy requires testing of the system performance before and after implementation to ensure that it meets the required standards (Smit & Dellemijn, 2011). A properly aligned system provides adequate and relevant information which may be used as a basis for managerial decision making, which are effective and provide a competitive edge for the business. Such systems also provide data on real time basis and accurate information is achieved when required for timely decisions. The need for managers to become more knowledgeable on information technology is therefore inevitable. With the frequently and consistently changing technology, there is need for the top management to be updated in the IT sector in order to take advantage of any available opportunity to make their firms competitive.
On the other hand, IS provides information on other related firms since the system focuses on both internal and external functions (Issa-Salwe, Ahmed, Aloufi, & Kabir, 2010). With this information at the manager’s disposal, strategic planning on ways to take counter measures in order to out-do other firms would drive a business to gain competitive grounds. The managers should also b...