Shilpi Ghosh Shweta Verma IIFT, 2011-13

Future drivers of IT: Building Capabilities and Devising Comparative Strategies for Tomorrow Cost-effective and efficient information management is vital for todays businesses. The need to make information speedily available and easily accessible to the decision-makers in an organization is not the only role of IT today. Facilitating the analysis and communication of business data as well as supporting the implementation of business strategy are near impossible tasks without the use of modern information technology. The innovations arising in the field of IT in the face of challenges confronting companies to maintain a competitive edge over their rivals are truly remarkable and will pave the way for the success of the IT organizations of tomorrow. This paper focuses on the benefits of cloud computing technology, process virtualization, advancements in business intelligence as well issues pertaining to strategic alliance of IT with business goals. Within a business organization, the primary purpose of IT and IT infrastructure is to facilitate business goals and implement business strategy effectively. The alignment of IT strategy with business strategy has been the goal of the CIOs of businesses for several years. However, there has been poor alignment of IT and business in several businesses over the years. Project demands from the business units of companies that IT managers do not understand very well lead to poor translation of requests into business tools or strategies. For a long time in most companies IT projects have missed targets such as the reduction of costs or improved customer satisfaction. Often the CFOs of companies have suggested that the IT professionals be allowed to work in other business departments for short stints so that they may develop a working knowledge about those areas. However, such ideas are difficult to execute given the limitations of time, money and other resources that businesses need to use very smartly in todays world to avoid financial or strategic disasters. Rather than struggle with the problems that the companys IT department faces, the company can decide to outsource its IT projects to a firm that can provide cost-effective and speedy solutions given its experience in handling projects in the same field of work as the company. Suggestions for opting to a centralized vendor for solving IT issues and outsourcing projects rather than maintaining an insular IT department that cannot deliver value to the various business units of the company have considerable worth in them. For instance most banks such as ICICI Bank outsource their business requirements for possible

Shilpi Ghosh Shweta Verma IIFT, 2011-13

solutions to IT organizations. In order to enhance the role of IT in solving business problems and providing cost-effective data management through cheap and easy to manage infrastructure, a new concept of cloud computing has come to the rescue. There are several broad definitions of what cloud computing is based on its use with respect to organizations and individuals. However, here are a couple of them that cover the ideas this paper would like to focus on: Applications and files are hosted on a cloud consisting of thousands of computers and servers, all linked together and accessible via the Internet. With cloud computing, everything you do is now web based instead of being desktop based. You can access all your programs and documents from any computer thats connected to the Internet. (Miller) a style of computing where massively scalable IT-related functions and information are provided as a service across the internet, potentially to multiple external customers, where the consumers of the services need only care about what the service does for them, not how it is implemented. Cloud is not an architecture, a platform, a tool, an infrastructure, a Web site or a vendor. It is a style of computing. Many architectures can be used to support its implementation and use. For example, it is possible to use cloud in private enterprises to build private clouds, but there is only one public cloud based on the Internet. (Gartner Research) Cloud computing today can be compared to last centurys electricity revolution. Businesses now no longer need to generate electricity from their own individual generators, but can buy power from electrical utilities hence, cutting costs and improving reliability. Similarly, cloud computing liberates businesses from having to generate and maintain their own computing power, frees them form the mainframe an desktop-centric frameworks of the past and opens a future where they can conveniently access computing resources that others create, provide and manage in the cloud. This IT change heralds the onset of a potential management revolution. While it stands true that this powerful technology brings with it concerns of privacy and security, the fact that businesses will get great economic benefit, conveniently delivered computing services and most importantly a strong competitive advantage cannot be ignored. The adoption of cloud technology by modern organizations along with certain appropriate safety measures is likely to benefit them greatly. In the meanwhile, IT organizations and scientists can keep

Shilpi Ghosh Shweta Verma IIFT, 2011-13

working on not only devising methods for keeping data secure and private, but also on improving the technology. Globalization and virtualization come together to enable cloud computing. Virtualization can be defined as any process which is devoid of human interaction. Many people confuse virtual processes with automated processes, which essentially does not require any human interference or interaction. On the other hand most virtual processes require active human intervention. Automated teller machines (ATMs) are the most common examples of the same. Sometimes simulation also forms a part of these virtual processes. But we need to keep in mind that these virtual processes are not purely simulations as they are conducted in reality. For any process to be virtualized a feasibility check is essential to be run across the parameters of sensory requirements, relationship requirements, synchronism requirements, and identification and control requirements. Heavy dependence on these parameters reduces the possibilities of adoption of virtualization for the process. IT enables the moderation of this dependence over these parameters thus facilitating the virtualization of the process. It is imperative to note that there have been virtual processes existing amidst us since before the dawn of IT e.g Books, Catalogs etc. IT uses three constructs of representation, reach, and monitoring capability to incorporate moderation. Representation is information presentation relevant to a process including simulations of actors and objects. This though does not completely outweigh sensory requirement but allows moderation to enable feasibility. For example grocery shopping is very difficult to be virtualized owing to heavy dependence on sensory requirement. Telemedicine on the other hand is an example of virtualization despite heavy dependence on sensory requirement. Dynamic representation is a key advantage of IT driven virtualization over non IT virtualization. Reach allows process participation across both time and space thus counterbalancing if not entirely the relationship and synchronism requirements. It enlarges the pool of potential relationship partners to have better selection group. Example MySpace and Second Life provides forum for interaction between like-minded people. Also Co browsing technology permits people in different locations to engage in a virtual shopping process at the same time even when shops and stores are closed.

Shilpi Ghosh Shweta Verma IIFT, 2011-13

The third IT construct of process virtualization is monitoring capability, which is ITs capacity to authenticate process participants and track activity. Monitoring capability facilitates the virtualization of processes with high identification and control requirements. Although identity spoofing remains a risk however advent of biometrics has greatly reduced it. Once a process exhibits high degree of feasibility to be virtualized, it should be virtualized and effectively implemented using IT. In such cases increased productivity has been observed owing to the advantages of accessibility, availability and usability. In addition to the benefits of cloud technology and process virtualization, the innovations in the field of business intelligence and analytics can greatly help a company in leveraging computing power to identify, extract and analyze business data. The objective of business intelligence is to support better business decisions and is hence, also referred to as a decision support system (DSS). Business intelligence applications often gather data from a datawarehouse and transform raw data into useful information that can aid managers and business executives to devise effective business strategies. Recently a business intelligence project was implemented in Toyota Motors called the Product Quality Analytics system. It allows Toyotas quality engineers to search through and analyze data extensively from highly disparate sources. The engineers are able to explore and search for patterns in the data that they would not have thought to look for previously. The reason Toyotas business intelligence (BI) group was able to deliver the BI system much faster than it would have been able to normally, was by taking advantage of technology developed previously by an IT organization called Endeca. This is an instance of strategic alignment being achieved by smartly harnessing the power of an externally developed technology by the IT department of a company which understands the particular need of its parent business. Finally, with the adoption of these new technologies, business organizations will be impacted dramatically. Cloud computing will change the way IT professionals work and also the way managers will think about business and coordinate tasks among people. In a processmanaged enterprise that cloud computing will give rise to, every member of the business team will be a leader. Decisions and execution of strategies will be more effective as those who will lead will be the ones most suited to do so in a particular situation given their area of expertise.

Shilpi Ghosh Shweta Verma IIFT, 2011-13

The advancements in business intelligence and analytics will also change the way businesses will be managed and the way managers and top executives will think about strategy. Today there is a greater integration of the IT department with the various other departments in the business. Rather than standing isolated from every other business function and failing to deliver any value to their project demands, IT is facilitating their work and making information easily accessible to them. In the face of these radical changes that IT innovations are bringing to the business world, it is becomingly increasingly important that managers understand and accept the way IT professionals think and function so that they can leverage the most out of the innovations the latter create as well as allow them to effectively perform for business organizations.

Shilpi Ghosh Shweta Verma IIFT, 2011-13

References 1. A. Bento, R. Bento. Cloud Computing: A New Phase in information technology management. Journal of Information Technology Management. November, 2011. 2. Gartner Research. Definition of Cloud Computing. DevCentral Weblog, 2008. 3. M. Miller. Cloud computing: Web-based applications that change the way you work and collaborate online. Que Publishing, Indianapolis, IN, 2008. 4. Jaikumar Vijayan. Business, IT collaboration drives new BI system at Toyota. May, 2011. 5. Shankar Babu Chebrolu. Assessing the relationships amog cloud adoption, strategic alignment and its effectiveness. Journal of Information Technology Management. 2011 6. Eric Overby. Process Virtualization Theory and the Impact of Information Technology. Organization Science. March, 2008.
7. www.computerworld.com