Using Information Technology strategically

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject Business economics - Information Management, grade: 2,0, University of Abertay Dundee, language: English, abstract: This report provides an evaluation of information technology (IT) strategies and their implementation in business, through an analysis and review of business models, illustrated through three case studies of business implementation. Research demonstrates that when IT is fully integrated with business processes it results in improvements to efficiency, effectiveness and efficacy of the business, in turn those improvements can lead to competitive advantage. Two critical success factors are identified for successful business integration and implementation: good project management; and development of the IT strategy in line with the development of business strategy. In conclusion, IT can make the difference between businesses being market leaders or laggards in the future, and at worst the difference between survival and failure. Current economic and market conditions have heightened the potential risk of failure but provides opportunity to those businesses that act fast to improve their Information systems (IS) in support of their business strategy. It is recommended, that world-class project methodologies are used when implementing IT and IS solutions. The project manager and team need to be carefully selected to ensure successful implementation against clearly defined success criteria within realistic time, budget and quality constraints. To ensure maximum integration with the business, the involvement of knowledgeable business process owners and end users is critical. Robust stakeholder management will not only ensure successful design but will help buy-in and implementation of the final solution. The case studies used in this report are drawn from the author's experience of working with these companies