Issues in the Application of Issues in the Application of Information Technology for Information Technology for

Strategic, Competitive AdvantageStrategic, Competitive Advantage

Virginia Franke Kleist, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Division of MIS/Management

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Welcome to the Technology Welcome to the Technology Part of the ProgramPart of the Program

How are you using information technology (IT) today in your firms and businesses?

How successful has this been for your firm? Do you have problems that are still unresolved

with Information Technology? Can IT give competitive advantage, anyway? How can one identify which technologies will best

give strategic advantage?

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IntroductionIntroduction What are the latest information technologies of interest, and

how are these being applied in business today?

How do you successfully select, implement and manage a new IT?

Strategic advantage from information technology

The .com fiasco, or can you make the web work for you?

Some problems with IT for competitive advantage

How can your firm benefit from IT?

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What are the latest What are the latest technologies of interest?technologies of interest?

CPU’s and software, open source code

Client server computing

Storage area networks

Interactive multimedia

Developments in Electronic Commerce

TCP/IP and the Internet

Databases and Datamining

Handhelds, M-commerce

Knowledge Management tools and Artificial Intelligence

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Technologies: CPU’s and Technologies: CPU’s and SoftwareSoftware

Hardware components of a computer system Buses, CPUs, MHz, RAM, Gigs and cache Bits and Bytes, storage Moore’s Law and price points per MIPs Mainframes, RISC computers, Parallel processing Open source movement in operating systems Enterprise Resource Planning software Object oriented programming

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Technologies: Client Server Technologies: Client Server ComputingComputing

Distributed processing vs. centralized processing

Network computingServersBridges and routers, gatewaysNetwork managementEthernet and Token Ring

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Technologies: Storage Area Technologies: Storage Area NetworksNetworks

Mirrors and provides redundancyFibre channel connectivityEMC, Compaq, HPFits with trend to pushing density of

corporate data further out into the “cloud” network

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Technologies: Interactive Technologies: Interactive MultimediaMultimedia

GroupwareVoice over IP Streaming technologyFlashMP3Seeing corporate uses in training

applications

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Technologies: Electronic Technologies: Electronic CommerceCommerce

The client/server/database three tier modelHTML, JavaScriptXML vs. EDIASP and ActiveX, PHP, CGIInterdev and development toolsSecurity and encryption issuesIntranets and Extranets

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Technologies: TCP/IP and Technologies: TCP/IP and the Internetthe Internet

Codes, bits and bytesAnalog vs. Digital transmissionPacket switching and circuit switchingThe IP address, TCP/IP layersDomain name resolutionThe world is becoming digitalPhysical vs. Logical connectivity

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Technologies: Databases, Technologies: Databases, DataminingDatamining

Data is the company’s strategic asset (PWC)

Data warehouses, multidimensional databases and data marts

OLAP vs. OLTP processingInformix, Oracle and Red BrickThe database management system

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Technologies: Handhelds and Technologies: Handhelds and M- CommerceM- Commerce

How does a cell phone work? WAP technology Palm and Visor The Win CE platform Linux in the small devices EPOC operating system What is M-commerce and what does it mean to

me?

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Technologies: Knowledge Technologies: Knowledge Management Tools and Artificial Management Tools and Artificial

IntelligenceIntelligenceExamples of Knowledge Management

systemsExpert systems: the earthenware damNeural NetworksFuzzy logicIntelligent agents

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Management: Information Management: Information Systems PlanningSystems Planning

IS plan maps to the corporate strategic planVariety of IS planning styles: CSF,

Enterprise, other formal structuresPlan itself: What are the components?Organizational change from systems:

TQM, BPR, paradigm shifts or simple automation?

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Management: the Systems Management: the Systems Development Life CycleDevelopment Life Cycle

Systems analysisSystems designProgrammingTestingConversionProduction mode and ongoing maintenance

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Management: ImplementationManagement: Implementation The RFP document Financial issues for IS planning The payback concerns Programming: the mythical man/month Construction issues testing and maintenance end users prototypes and pilots outsourcing

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Management: Security Issues Management: Security Issues

System quality, reliability, accuracyData security controlsThe firewall and internet issues (hackers,

viruses, trojan horses, denial of service attacks)

Encryption, DES, SSL, SETBiometrics

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Strategic Advantage: IT at Strategic Advantage: IT at workwork

IT and changes in the organization of business: flatter, leaner, teams, JIT, global

Datamining and WalmartE-commerce and the supply chain at DellM-commerce and Progressive AutoInternet and EggheadAmerican Airlines, Baxter, Citibank

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Strategic Advantage: How does Strategic Advantage: How does one come up with this idea, one come up with this idea,

anyway?anyway?(Laudon and Laudon, 2000)(Laudon and Laudon, 2000)

Porter’s Value Chain: primary and support activities

The competitive forces model: Threats from new market entrants, suppliers, substitute products and customers

Core competenciesNetwork economics

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Some Problems from IT for Some Problems from IT for Competitive AdvantageCompetitive Advantage

The productivity paradoxTangible vs. intangible benefits from ITFuture cash flows analysisUnique vs. staying even with competitionValue from simple automation projectsValue from highly risky, but strategic IT

projectsRisk vs. return issues

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How can your firm benefit How can your firm benefit from IT?from IT?

In supply chain management through inventory management

In the customer interface via ecommerceIn logistics through GPS/GISIn client management through groupwareIn marketing through dataminingIn internal management through Intranets

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Class Discussion: The Dell Class Discussion: The Dell CaseCase

How did Dell achieve success? What IT technologies did Dell use? How does Dell use ecommerce successfully? What are the ways that Dell uses IT for strategic,

competitive advantage? What is Dell’s business model? Will Dell be able to keep this success going, given

the recent troubles?